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lexa-lives-in-us · 4 years ago

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Saving Tips for Hard Times

I found this old document where I collected a series of tips to save money. This is all part of my experience of when I was near homeless, and some work depending on where you live, some don’t. Here we go.

BILLS:

1. The optimum temperature for refrigerator operation is 5°C, and -18°C for freezer operation. As a rule of thumb, for each additional degree of refrigeration output about six percent more electricity is used.

2. Unplug your appliances. Lamps, microwave, tv, computers etc. They don't need to be plugged until you use them, and it saves energy to keep them unplugged. Therefore, money.

3. Do homework for phone companies and internet plans. Call them! Often they are toll free and if you mentioned that you were already with them or thinking of going with them and then found out another company had a better deal, they could offer you deals for lower prices. I had to do it all the time for my phone, until they couldn't really offer anything better.

4. BIKE. Invest in a used bike if you can, especially for the warmer months. It offsets the transit costs and better your health.

5. WALK. That's the same as the bike, honestly.

6. Pay your bills on time, you will avoid late fees which can up to HUNDREDS of dollars wasted over the course of a year. If you can, set up automatic payments so you don’t forget.

FRIDGE:

1. Every time the refrigerator door is opened, cold air escapes and warm ambient air enters. To compensate for the temperature increase in its interior, the refrigerator must then use energy to bring the temperature back down. Always avoid opening the door unnecessarily and for too long.

2. When defrosting frozen food place it in the refrigerator. Not only does this ensure that the food is carefully defrosted, its presence cools down the refrigerator interior, reducing the amount of work that the compressor has to do, and therefore lowering energy consumption.

3. Never put warm food in the refrigerator as this will heat up the interior, as well as other stored foods. Hot food should always be allowed to cool to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator

MONEY:

1. Keep all the containers like glass bottles, juice bottles, jars, cans etc. Look for your Return-It depot and have trips to return them. They give back coins for laundry, small expenses etc

2. Use that junk mail. Go through it, find coupons for food, for essentials like toilet paper or shampoo.

3. CHECK. THAT. DOLLARSTORE. They often have things like pasta, ketchup, toilet paper, batteries etc for literally 1 dollar. Pasta is pasta, toilet paper is toilet paper. Seriously. Don't need to spend 5$ on a shampoo bottle when you can have it for 1/5 of the price.

4. Do homework and check with different banks for which one offers a better plan. Some of them are willing to help out. Sit down with their advisors, find the best solution!

5. Use the envelope system! For example, one envelope with a label “food” the other with “entertainment” the other with “bills”. Then set the right amount of cash for each. That’s what you’re allowed to spend each month. If you realize you need more for food, grab it from the entertainment envelope. Adapt and arrange as needed.

6. If you can, set up an automatic saving (example 50$ every paycheck) for both regular saving AND an emergency fund.

7. Use the 24-Hour Rule. Avoid purchasing expensive or unnecessary items on impulse with a self-imposed 24-hour rule. For any non-essential item, wait 24 hours before purchasing. It’s perfect for online shopping where your items can simply be added to your cart to purchase later.

8. Make a grocery list BEFORE going to the grocery store and STICK to it. You’re going to avoid buying things you don’t really need.

9. DO. NOT. SHOP. WHILE. YOU. ARE. HUNGRY. Or you’ll end up buying food that you actually don’t need just because you feel snacky!

10. Only use ATMs from your bank, or you get charged small fees.

11. Set a “No Spend Day” per week, where you consciously DO NOT spend any money for that day.

12. Ditch the paper: Cutting out paper towels and using cloths and napkins that you can simply wash and reuse is a simple way to save.

13. After you wear clothes, hang them outside your wardrobe, on a door or something. You can air them out a bit, then stick them in the closet without washing. You can basically reuse the same clothes two or three times without having to wash them, sometimes they just need a bit of air and they won’t smell AT ALL.

14. If you don’t own or want to spend money on an iron, hang whatever blouse you need to iron in the bathroom while you shower. The steam will humidify the fabric and straighten it up.

15. Hang stuff to dry. Really don’t need to spend money on the dryer.

16. Sign up to the library. They have so many books and DVDs nowadays. You can also just go, sit at the library and stay warm for a while, so that you don’t have to sit at home and either suffer the cold or use money on your own heat.

17. Budget, budget, budget. Get a lil notebook, write down the monthly expenses, cut what you don’t need. It gets easier with time.

FOOD:

1. Make a meal plan. Write 10-14 days worth of dishes that you can do (lunch, dinner, everything you need). You can then toss them around as you go on with your week, but that way you have a pretty clear idea of what you use and the food you go through for how long. It also reduces the risks of getting take out since you already have plans for what to eat.

2. Cook double! Seriously. Make that dinner and double it up. Leftovers can be frozen or put in the fridge for the day after.

3. Meal prep. Once a week, prep a bunch of different recipes. Let them cool down, stick them in the freezer. At that point you’ll already have all these meals at the ready to just thaw/microwave or oven up.

4. You don’t need pop. You don’t need alcohol. You most likely don’t need milk, but go for it if you wanna. Just remember dairy products go bad WAY more quickly than non dairies, so consider getting food and drinks with no dairy in them. Mainly, though. Water. Just drink water. Lots of it too! Sometimes our brain can’t tell the difference between hunger and thirst. You think you’re snacky? Drink some water instead! It’ll quell your hunger.

5. Freeze fruit! If you think you’re not gonna be able to eat fruit in time, put it in a Tupperware or a ziplock and slap it in the freezer. You’ll be able to then use it for smoothies.

6. Use the Italian saying “Colazione da re, pranzo da nobili, cena da poveri.” Which quite literally means “Breakfast as a king, lunch as a noble, dinner as a poor.” Breakfast should be very filling, carbs, protein, vitamins. It carries you for the whole day. Lunch should be quite filling too! But supper doesn’t really need a lot of it, and if you REALLY have to skip a meal, skip supper. Your body doesn’t need that much sustenance while sleeping.

7. This is for the desperate times but I’ve done it, and I would do it again if I ever had to. Go to markets that have like… Fruits and veggies. Talk to them. Ask them “HEY, can I have the fruit/veggie that you have to throw away?” Ask them if you can have the ugly produce, the one that doesn’t look pretty enough to be put out. Or ask them to have whatever extra they have to dump because is past the expiry date. EXPIRY DATE IS USUALLY MUCH LONGER THAN WHAT THE LABEL SAYS. I wouldn’t risk it with dairy stuff or with things that are VERY expired, but one or two days? Totally fine, I promise. And if you have to? Dumpster Dive. Especially at markets with fruit and veggies that have to be sold on the same day (because it’s not considered “fresh” past that day.) Or behind pizza places like Dominos or Panago or whatever chain. They get pizza orders wrong all the time. Just give a peak behind these buildings and look inside their boxes. You have no idea how many times I found perfectly fine pizzas. For free! IF YOU DUMPSTER DIVE, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GLOVES, A MASK AND PLASTIC BAGS TO PUT YOUR STUFF IN. ONCE AT HOME, DISCARD GLOVES AND WASH PRODUCE THROUGHLY. Also check tumblr for your divers community, they usually know the best spots.

CLOTHES:

1. Thrift shop! So many GOOD used clothes are out there! Honestly! My whole wardrobe is thrifted and everything looks brand new. It takes a bit of research and maybe that shirt you liked is not in your size, but you can find EVERYTHING, from socks to bras, at a thrift store. Don’t thrift underwear though. You want to go new with those.

2. Invest in some needle and thread, then open youtube. There are SO MANY tutorials that teach you how to mend holes in socks and underwear. And really, no one will really notice if a mend is perfectly done or not. After a week, you’ll forget it too! But that prevents you from throwing away clothes that could just be mended a little.

3. Something doesn’t fit you? Too small, too big? YouTube, homie. They have tutorials on how to fix these kinda things! All you need, again, is needle and thread.

4. Organize clothes swaps with friends and/or neighbors. Everyone brings clothes they don’t need, put them in a pile. Go through the pile and grab whatever there is. There’s no money exchange, one could go home with 1 item and one could go home with 50 items. Who cares? The extra stuff… DONATE IT TO A SHELTER.

Feel free to add more, and stay safe!

#saving #saving tips #saving tip #money management #savings #small savings #homeless #saving account #my tips #signal boost #thrifting #dumpster diving #recycle #creative reuse #reduce reuse recycle #reducereuserecycle

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bakugohoex · 4 years ago

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“probably married to this dumbass”

pairing: katsuki bakugo x female reader

cw: pro hero (aged up) fluff, language, implied 18+ and kissing

word count: 2600+

a/n: i was in the mood to write some bakugo i have three requests atm so if you guys want to send in more i’ll write someee

summary: in which you and bakugo get interviewed on a talk show on what it’s like being pro hero, what turns into a simple where do you see yourself in five years leads to your relationship being announced on live tv

↞ back to my hero academia masterlist

You and Bakugo were in love, you knew it, your friends knew it. The people of Japan however had no idea, you were seen just as partners on patrols when out and about. They had no idea of the lewd things Bakugo whispered in your ear as you tried to make sure there was no crime going on. His aim of being the number one hero was becoming a reality, his personality from UA had changed, he may still be the loud explosive man, but he was sometimes kind to civilians. You stress the sometimes.

He would help people get up and tell them off for falling, his logic made sense, but you still loved him even if half the time he was screaming. You had both been asked to be on a talk show that aired at night so nothing you and Bakugo ever saw as you spent many hours at your shared apartment fucking.

It was a love language for the shouty man, and you wouldn’t lie and say you didn’t love coming home to be pinned against a wall. Feeling ever so small under his gaze filled with lust and love.

“You’re telling me, me and Y/n have to be on a fucking show.” He hollered at one of the girls who was currently interning.

“Don’t shout Katsuki.” You mutter giving a more sympathetic look to the poor girl. “It might be fun.”

“Fun.” He raised as eyebrow shouting, as he dragged you to a secluded area of the hero agency. “Fun would be making you beg for my dick; this is not my idea of fun princess.”

You rolled your eyes at his comment as his arm rested on the wall, he leaned further and further towards you. “If we go then tomorrow we get the day off.” You move your finger up his arm to his shoulder, “we can do whatever you want to do.”

You were taunting him; he gave a smirk however falling right into it. You couldn’t lie you wanted to get dressed up and gain some attention. “Whatever I want yeah.”

“Whatever you want baby.” You cooed as he smirked, he watches as your hands moved to his hero costume, his exposed neck as you brushed your finger across it about to move it to his lip to brush against.

He quickly walks away as you huff as the lack of contact, not even a kiss goodbye. You followed as you saw him storm to the girl who looked scared for her life, he must’ve said an okay as she gave a small smile to you. You smiled back before Bakugo came back.

“It’s at 7, they want us to look nice for the reputation of the agency or whatever.” He crosses his arms leaning against the desk you had leant against.

You were all giddy now, happy that you were able to look pretty, even with your very much exposed hero costume due to your quirk needing more skin contact, you still wanted to feel pretty in something that you didn’t associate with hero work. “I know you’re happy to look all amazing, but even if you turned up in a bin bag you’d still be the prettiest girl in the room, dumbass”

When Bakugo spoke you instantly blushed at his comment, he was never one to outright praise you with hero work, but as soon as it came to your relationship and making you happy he was always one to compliment you, even with it ended with him calling you dumbass. But at least you were his dumbass.

You had been made to choose from a couple dresses as they wanted you to look drop dead gorgeous, you chose a red one that matched Bakugo’s eyes as it hugged your body and went to the ground, it had thin straps and you couldn’t lie and say that if Bakugo saw you in this he would want to tear it right off.

You had been told someone would do your make up at the show’s base, and to Bakugo’s dismay the two of you had been separated. Being guided to the base, you sat down eagerly as you saw women and men surrounding you, they did your hair and your make up effortlessly making you look like an absolute goodness.

They were really pulling out the stops for this one thing, it was rare for you to do talk shows as you were more into interviews that were pre recorded and edited. Live ones were more Deku’s and Bakugo’s thing though.

“You look gorgeous.” The same girl who had told you about the talk show spoke as she held the dress out.

“Thank you.” You smiled back as you put the dress on, you had worn the necklace that Katsuki had got you which had the letter K on it assuming people would think it was anybody’s name and not the man who in a couple minutes would walk out with you.

A red bracelet wrapped around your wrist as you wore a couple rings on your fingers, the promise one encasing your ring finger, it had a small gem in the middle of the gold band and you had refused to take it and your necklace off as it meant so much to you.

Before you knew it was nearly time to go and you saw as Bakugo huffed walking in with a man, Bakugo was for sure not paying attention as the red button up adorned his chest and black trousers clinged to his legs. He had left the top two buttons open, wearing similar rings to you with the black ring you had gotten him around his own ring finger. It was small and thin but inside had your name inscribed in it, he loved it and would wear it with anything, the feeling of it around your throat always sent shivers down your spine.

As soon as he noticed you standing in front of him, he was dumbfounded, he couldn’t even speak, looking at you up and down. He walked towards you putting his arms around your waist, “You’re too gorgeous to resist princess.” You blush as he turns you around so he can get a better view of you.

He loved the sight in front of him, your confident nature was brought out through the dress, everything about the way you looked defined you and it made him fall even more in love with you.

The girl from earlier had gestured for the both of you to go in, Bakugo let go of your waist, missing the touch of your hips on his ever-irritated cock. You both smiled as you saw that there was even a live audience. Bakugo walked in like he owned the place as you just kept straight not wanting to trip in the heels they had made you wear.

“Welcome both of you, come sit, sit.” She gestured as there was a long couch waiting for the two of you, Bakugo let you go first as you sat closest to the host and Bakugo sat beside you, your legs touching as his arm wrapped to the back of the couch, ever so relaxed. “So, we have Pro Heroes Dynamight and (your hero name), better known as Katsuki Bakugo and Y/n Y/L/N.”

You smiled at her as Bakugo didn’t speak or look at her, he had been dragged in this due to thinking with his downstairs brain at the heat of the moment. But seeing how happy you looked in the dress how could he ever have said no to you?

“So, first off we need to know what got you to want to become heroes.”

“Katsuki.” You mutter if he wanted to talk first, you noticed that in a lot of these live stuff he liked talking a lot, but his normal chatty nature had changed as if he was in a trace and the cause was most definitely you. “Okay well, it’s probably the most basic reason but I saw a hero save someone and I instantly fell in love with the idea of saving and helping people.”

You knew it was common for many heroes to have this sort of epiphany, you heard Bakugo speak as he sat up right, “All Might of course, from seeing him I knew I wanted to be number one hero.”

He had a calmer demeanour trying not to shout or get as pissed off as he usually did, you smiled at him as he looked down at your body again. “Do you have any advice to any kids out there who want to be heroes?”

“Work hard and even if it doesn’t work out at first you’ll still be a hero in your own way.” You smile out.

Bakugo laughs at the comment, he knew you were being nice for the show as he knew what you’d have really said, “If you suck, you suck, get strong or you’ll die.” Your eyes grow wide at his bluntness.

“Katsuki.” You scowled at him as the host and the audience laugh, you hit his chest feeling his hard muscles underneath.

“It’s the truth Y/n, you started to sugar-coat stuff.” He raises an eyebrow as he leans back again.

The host continues to ask questions as you answer enticingly as Bakugo makes remarks that lift the comfort of the room, you had finally becoming comfortable, the host asking about UA. “So, we heard that you two went to UA together, were you two friends, did you get along?”

Bakugo was the first one to speak, you two had been dating since UA and had kept it a secret from everyone except for Class 1A, as soon as the dorm system had been implemented it made it a lot easier to be around each other and one by one the class found out. Even with continuing dating after graduating they all knew you had remained strong together and it was a surprise nobody had found out on the amount of dates you two went on.

“Yeah we were friends I guess; we were in the same class and spent time with the class together.” He smiled as he thought of the days were you’d both sneak into each other’s rooms to be able to cuddle at night. His taller frame always encasing you in love. “She was a pain back then though.”

You glare at the boy before you interrupt up him, “me a pain, I distinctly remember you pissing off everybody.”

You laughed as he glared back at you, “seems like you two really are the best friends everybody talks about.” You nodded as to try and not blow your secret relationship. “Now for the finally question of the night, where do both of you see each other in five years?”

You had never been asked something like this, you were only in your early twenties and five years is a substantial difference now then it was in your teens. Where would you be? Would you and Bakugo remain strong with you still be partners would Bakugo be the number one hero. You carefully thought trying to get a satisfactory answer out.

Well you had clearly been thinking because Bakugo blurted out the words nobody had expected, “probably married to this dumbass.”

Your head shot as he had his arm around the couch still, his legs spread as if he was waiting for you to sit on his lap. “K…Katsuki.” Realisation hit him as it made his mouth went dry.

The host looked before the two of you noticing, how Bakugo’s arm moved to behind your back, your legs touching, the K necklace around your neck and the look of love that surrounded the two of you.

“You two are dating?” She asks.

He gives a look to you as you nod at the idiot, “Yeah since our UA days, isn’t that right princess, you were always obsessed with me.” The nickname rolling off his tongue as your face flushed a bright pink.

“Katsuki you liar.” You mutter, the mic still picking up on it as you could hear it play on the speakers.

“That is adorable, you two are such a cute couple.” The host coos as you smile at her.

“Yeah we might be cute but dating his is like dating a kid.” You laugh as you were trying to get back at Bakugo for embarrassing you.

“I expect it would be” The host smiles as the audience still hadn’t said anything only watching at you two. She wrapped the show up as you could almost hear your phone go off in the other room.

The host said goodbye to you both as the audience watched intensively as they walked out, “you and your big mouth.” You mutter to Bakugo as he grabs your hand walking you to the side.

“But now we can go on dates anytime we want now, idiot.” He laughs.

You shrug as he still held your hand, not bothering to change he grabs your bag and clothes as he takes his own, passing you your phone as he remained holding hands with you. “Twitter has gone mad.”

“Yeah cause two sex god’s have been dating and they never knew.” He smirks as you push into his side.

“Mr and Mrs Bakugo, there’s a car waiting outside for you.” You almost choke on the name as you look at one of the producers.

“It’s Miss Y/L/N.” You spoke softly but she hadn’t heard as Bakugo grinned at the thought.

“Come on Mrs Bakugo, our cars waiting.” You wanted to rip his throat out, as you both walked outside.

Fans around the both of you as Bakugo put an arm tightly around you, he didn’t want this to happen, but he basked in all the attention. “You’re enjoying this too much.”

He grins looking down at you as he goes to you ear, “It’s because tomorrow you won’t be doing any walking at all.”

Your face reddens at what he said, the sex addicted Bakugo was too comfortable and having said that in front of fan only made your face blush even more. He opened the door for you as you got in, he followed as he sat right beside you, the driver taking you to your apartment.

“We could always have some fun here.” You watching his hands move across your thigh, slowly getting higher and higher at every touch.

“You’re such a perv Bakugo.” You hissed slapping his hand, his quirk created little sparkles as he lifted your dress up, putting his hand inside as he grabbed your thigh. The hotness making your legs shuffle at the closeness it had to your pussy.

“Your perv though princess.” His antics continued and before you knew it you were inside the elevator to your apartment, his hands around your waist as his chin rested on top of your head. “I love you.”

He spoke calmly for once without any snideness or ulterior motive. “I love you too.” You reply back as you turned to face him, your hands wrapping around his neck as you leant in and kissed him, his arms wrapping around your waist, the kiss deepening as he pulled you closer towards his body, he groped at your hips as he moves to your ass, squeezing it through the thin material. The elevator opened up as his teeth bit into your bottom lip as you retracted, the feeling of him remaining on you.

You knew what was going to occur for the next day and you knew you certainly weren’t prepared for losing the ability to walk for the next week. But as he watched you look gorgeous in the dress you watched over him with the same love and lust. You were perfect for each other and nothing would ever change that.

If you guys want to be a part of a tag list, just reply to any post and I’ll add you xx

@samusimp @alaina-rose13

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shelby-love · 4 years ago

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JAY HALSTEAD

Bomb Squad Alternative

Requested: yes

Prompts: none

Warning(s): none

Author's note: Here is another crossover between firefighter Y/N and Jay Halstead. Hope you enjoyed since I’m really proud lol. Personally I think this would be a great episode.

Requests for Jay are open again so send in your ideas! I’m thinking about putting out Christmas prompts since I’m feeling festive. Also, I’m quarantied :( went to test yesterday and I’m waiting for the results to kick in. I feel fine so I shouln’t worry but I still do yk? Anyhow, school is a b and I’m doing online atm (maybe high schools will switch to online completely until Christmas but who knows at this point).

It’s also exam weeks so that’s why I’ve been lacking time to get back to writing.

Now perpare for me to get on my knees for you at the end of this one shot. <3

“Everyone get out of the station!” You exclaimed, barging through the train station with the rest of 51. Your loud voices and heavy gear alerted everyone enough to get them to move back.

“What do you think you’re doing?” A police officer questioned, throwing an accusing eyebrow your way.

Your lieutenant left you to the police officer’s mercy with a nod of his head. You sighed, turning to the man but still keeping a steady pace with the rest of your team. “There is a bomb threat, we need to evacuate the train station.”

“A bomb threat? I didn’t get a call,” He fought, looking around as if the bomb might be anywhere. Which was true.

“The intelligence is on their way, but I suggest you give us some room to do our job,” Matt joined his voice with you to explain. Although he quickly returned to shouting.

Soon enough, you saw two dark clothed figures march down the stairs towards you. Your boyfriend came striding down towards all of you, his blue eyes assassinating the surrounding situation.

Until they fell on you.

He looks good, you allowed yourself to think. Admiring his lean figure - the leather jacket covering his muscular arms and proud CPD badge at his hip - you watched as he stalked towards you. The old lady that was clutching to your side shakily suddenly became invisible to your eyes.

You weren’t surprised to see his jaw tick at the sight of you, which made you shake your head in annoyance. Helping the lady catch the arms of a fellow firefighter became your priority. You watched as she walked outside on unsteady legs.

“Y/LN, Casey.” Your chief grabbed your attention, “What’s the situation?”

“Still no sight of the bomb chief,” Matt said. “We’re trying to get out as many people as possible.”

“It’s rush hour Chief,” You breathed, glancing at Jay for a second before giving Wallace your full attention. “The next train will be here in 10 minutes. If this bomb has a timer then that’s exactly when it will go off. We need the bomb squad here now.”

“Understood. Voight?”

The sergeant looked at Jay who shook his head. “Stuck in traffic.”

You caught Matt muttering a violent curse under his breath, which only tempted you to do the same.

“Chief we need help!”

Severide’s shout brought you and Matt to your senses immediately. There was no time to think as you both ran towards him with your heavy gear on both your shoulders.

“Y/N stop!”

It was Jay who made you halt in your tracks to turn around. “What?”

He reached for your elbow, and with ease pulled you away. “Look I...”

You knew what was going on in his head. His protective nature over you often interferes with many things, including your job. But not today.

“I know you’re worried Jay, okay?” You reasoned, gloved hands grabbing his forearms in reassurance. “But this is my job. Trust me - I hate that we’re put in this situation but there’s nothing we can do except have each other's back.”

Jay let out a loose breath of fear before masking it under a facade of blankness. He waved his hand at the police officers, giving them a sign to follow him. “Be careful.”

You bobbed your head before planting a kiss to his cheek and running back to the scene.

The sight in front of you broke your heart.

A tiny boy with tears coloring his face sat at the bench with his foot dangling over the edge, connected to what looked like a time bomb. He was all alone - barely even 7 years old, with a bright yellow beanie covering his blonde curls. Rosy tear stained cheeks, and blue eyes filled with fear made you drop on your knees immediately.

Carefully, you approached him. The fear that brew inside was pushed aside and you plastered on a smile. “Hi buddy. My name’s Y/N. We’re here to help you”

You seized the ticking bomb and managed to decipher the numbers. Shaking your head, you ignored the buzzing of your anxious heart and grabbed your radio, dialing. “We have three minutes chief. No time to wait for the bomb squad. I have to do it.”

***

Jay looked at the police officers who surrounded him in an uneven half circle, and shook his head. He could see the men trembling, hands shaking and beads of sweat appearing at their foreheads.

“Alright listen up,” He boomed. “We need to evacuate immediately. Threaten with arrest, I don’t care. Just get the civilians out of here.”

They nodded in sync, each man letting out a different toned response before leaving him be to watch what was revealing a few yards away. Jay wouldn’t admit it, but he was shaking inside. His fingertips itched to grab your heavily clothed body and swing you over his shoulder in an attempt to keep you safe... No matter how chauvinistic that sounded.

But Jay Halstead had decided to date a strong woman. A dedicated feminist at that - a woman that refused to be manhandled unless it was to take her to bed when she desired.

Now he watched her - you - shout and shove around the train station, desperate to do what his job was too. Was he a bad man for not really caring if that man that just brushed his expensive suit against his shoulder came out of there safe? He only had eyes on you, so that’s why he spent moments watching you work around like a hawk.

And then you kneeled, and your colleagues stepped out of the way. Without his permission, his dark brows bunched together and his eyes narrowed at your stature. What are you doing?

His answer fell from the sky quickly - although not literally. Voight and Boden strode to his side to discuss the situation.

“There is no time to wait for the bomb squad,” Boden said roughly, his jaw clenching. “If that bomb isn’t deactivated within the next 3 minutes not only is that boy going to die...everyone on this block will.”

Voight knew what he meant by that. Thousands of casualties. Not only will Chicago lose millions of dollars worth of repair if the block blows up - as first responders what came to their minds were the civilians. How many of them will die or be injured because of a simple mistake of following protocol and waiting? They had a firefighter there, on the scene, ready to disable the bomb and save them.

Only that firefighter was you. And that made their decision ten times harder to make.

But Boden was sure in you, and so was Voight. “Okay. Do what you gotta do.”

Wallace nodded, griping his radio. “Y/N. Go for it.”

Y/N? Jay couldn’t believe his ears. It completely slipped his mind that you had been trained for this. At that moment, his body and mind said no. He forgot all about equality you have been trying to tattoo into his mind. You were you at that moment. A simple girl he fell in love with and wanted to protect.

“What the hell Sarge?!”

***

“Okay,” You sighed enthusiastically, hoping to divert the boy’s attention to your relaxed posture. “I need you to be really still for me. Can you do that?”

The boy could barely nod as Sylvie held his head still in the cervical collar.

“What’s your name?” Sylvie asked him, ignoring the fact that two minutes were left on the clock. You went straight to work the moment his attention was diverted and his leg was no longer shaking.

Swiftly, you grasped the leg of his pants and pulled it up, revealing the leather that was sunk in his flesh. You winced, “His leg circulation is bad.”

“Just focus on the bomb,” She reassured you quietly.

You grabbed the equipment and started to work on disabling it. Each step was more difficult than the other. You felt yourself tremble as the end seemed to never come any closer to you no matter how much you reached for it. “Go.”

“What? We’re not leaving you.“ It was Severide who spoke, only a meter or two away from you. Shaking your head at another trap within the system you decided that you needed all the help you could get.

1 minute.

“Jay?” You murmured against the radio - Jay’s reply was instant.

“Y/N you can do this,” his voice was raspier through the line, more prominent and harsh. Nevertheless, his words soothed you.

“I need help,” you told him. “You said this man is crazy right? Well I think there’s a story here. These wires mean something. Blue, white, yellow.”

You weren’t allowed to go for it... not when so many lives were at risk. This man was smart, that much you knew. There has to be a meaning behind the colors.

Jay could help you more than anyone. You knew it. He knew it too.

Blue, white, yellow.

***

“Blue, white, yellow.” He mumbled, not allowing himself to look at his watch. You didn’t have much time, he knew it - Jay just didn’t want a definite reminder of it.

He rocked his brain for explanations. For a clue within this case. Something.

30 seconds.

“Everyone evacuate now!” Boden shouted into his radio. Jay shut it out. His voice didn’t matter. Only you did.

Like an eagle, he searched for you and found you: crouched in front of the yellow capped boy, acting like his anchor he could hold onto. He couldn’t see how shaky you were from afar, he could only hope you were okay.

10 seconds.

“Jay!”

Yellow.

“This kid was his last target. He looks for the details,“ He explained to you. “Yellow.”

***

Like his beanie. You casted a stray glance at the boy, flashing him a tight lipped smile. The puffy beanie that was supposed to protect him from the cold just became the thing that saved his life. And the poor boy didn’t even know it.

3...

This is it.

2...

You didn’t think, only did what Jay told you. You cut through the yellow wire and stop the ticking destruction at the last second.

No sound is heard.

No man moves.

Only rigid breathing of your own manages to make its way inside your ears.

And then the boy starts to wail. His cries turn into what look like never ending sobs. You were glad he’s crying, and not in a bad way. The sound he started to make was a clear indicator of your survival. The bomb didn’t go off. You were safe. You never felt more alive.

Your friends swiped you in their arms immidiately. Every firefighter gave you a congratulation you never thought you would recieve. You just disabeled a bomb.

And it looked like you were the only one shocked.

Still shaking, your eyes searched for the man that helped you.

But Jay was already there, and by the time you turned around to search for him he had his fingertips around you. With a clean tug he pushed you against his chest and hugged you. His breathing was just as harsh as your own, but inside - he never felt prouder.

“You had my back,” you mumbled. Jay pulled a moment later, his blue eyes gazing down at you before he laughed. Laughed. “You were amazing baby.”

“You really think so?”

“I do. Now let’s get you out of here.” He smiled, slipping his hand into yours and pulling you towards the exit. You were cheered after of course, it made your heart swell with pride.

On your way outside you saw the bomb squad, standing in lines next to their equipment. “Nice work guys.” Jay said sarcastically.

The two of you made your way to the shaky boy to make sure he was alright. People were gathered outisde, now that the threat was removed. Each and every one of them had their eyes glazed with tears of relief.

Their homes were safe. Their families were too.

Boden gave you the rest of the day off, and Jay was the one to drive you home.

“Let’s hope our work doesn’t clash like that ever again.”

“I agree,” Jay said quietly and pressed his lips safely against yours.

MASTERLIST

###

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mcgrillzdumpinc · 4 years ago

Text

At the Crossroads

Summary: There is another world, one filled to the brim with all assortment of spirits, ghosts, and monsters. Jiang Cheng does not expect to come to know this world after suffering a car crash, but at least he has his siblings and his boyfriend, Nie Huaisang, along for the ride. Written for the SangCheng 2020 Winter Exchange!

Pairing: SangCheng, WangXian

Rating: T

Warnings: Referenced child abuse, physical injuries, referenced severe injuries to a child, car crash

Word count: 7011

It starts, as so many stories do, with a car crash. Well, to be more accurate, it starts with a fire to the Jiang parents’ house followed by a desperate escape from the city by the Jiang children. They weren’t home when the fire started, so all they have are the personal affects they were carrying that day. No toothbrushes, no suitcases, only the clothes on their backs and whatever happened to be in their pockets and purses. They withdraw money from ATMs and buy what they need with the cash. They run desperately, perhaps fruitlessly, in Wei Wuxian’s beat-up van, hoping they can make it to their mother’s side of the family on the other side of the state.

Jiang Cheng crashes the car on the sixth day of the trip. On barely any sleep and a limitless amount of anxious energy, he fails to see the truck turn into his lane until it rams into his side of the van.

When Jiang Cheng comes to, it’s to the face of his boyfriend’s older brother. “We heard what happened,” Nie Mingjue says. “We won’t let those Wen-dogs get any closer to you.”

Some time later—Jiang Cheng loses track of the days—he’s discharged from the hospital. He’s given more than enough pamphlets to read—on concussion recovery, what to expect when he starts physical therapy for his broken leg, as well as general information on what to expect with the cracks in his ribs and his broken arm. Nie Mingjue promises to help Jiang Cheng set everything up back home, including the physical therapist, before shepherding his wheelchair-bound body into a private jet.

“Your brother and sister are already back in our home,” Nie Mingjue explains for the third or fourth time. “Their injuries weren’t as severe.” He settles into a seat next to Jiang Cheng and orders them both some water.

“What about the Wens?” Jiang Cheng asks. “Why the hell did they come after my family?”

Predictably, Nie Mingjue goes silent. No matter what Jiang Cheng says or does, the man refuses to release any information on the people who razed his home. If it weren’t for the heavy amount of pain killers coursing through his system, Jiang Cheng would probably have decked him with his good hand.

“Your father is still in the hospital,” Nie Mingjue eventually says, after the plane has set off. “His chances are looking good for a full recovery. Your mother—”

“Is dead?”

Nie Mingjue sighs through his nose. “Is missing. Where the hell did you get the idea that she’s dead?”

“Because she’s stronger than my dad. Anyone who would hurt him wouldn’t allow her to live.”

“Have better faith in your parents. We don’t know where Yu Ziyuan is, but we know for certain she isn’t with the Wens.”

“Because they’d be gone if she was?”

Nie Mingjue snorts at that and orders a small meal for them. “You’re damn right.”

~~~

Jiang Cheng is rudely awoken by Nie Mingjue when they arrive at the Nie mansion. He doesn’t even remember leaving the plane, but he guesses that should be expected. He’s been sleeping a lot since the accident.

Wei Wuxian, Yanli, and Huaisang are all there to greet him, waiting in the foyer with party poppers. Jiang Cheng curses loudly when Wei Wuxian pops his right in his face.

“Happy to have you here with us!” Wei Wuxian cheers, picking pieces of paper out of Jiang Cheng’s hair.

“You couldn’t have found a nicer way to welcome me?” Jiang Cheng growls.

Yanli chuckles as she pulls Wei Wuxian aside to hug her younger brother. “Welcome back, A-Cheng. We’re all very happy to see you doing well.”

Jiang Cheng returns her hug with his good arm, burrowing his nose into her long hair. “Same here.”

From what the doctors told him, Wei Wuxian and Yanli suffered much less than him. The car had rolled off the road and into grassy embankment. Yanli, in the passenger seat, suffered a herniated disk in her upper back, a sprained wrist, a slight closed fracture to her skull, and various bruises along her right side. Wei Wuxian, meanwhile, merely bore a concussion and broken leg. They were all due for physical therapy and a long time on painkillers, but Jiang Cheng would certainly be in recovery much longer than them. Not that he minded, really. He would rather it be him than either of his siblings.

“A-Cheng,” Huaisang pipes in. “Are you hungry?”

“We didn’t eat on the trip over,” Nie Mingjue answers, which is a lie. While Jiang Cheng barely touched his plane meal, he knows Nie Mingjue quickly packed his own away. Without Jiang Cheng voicing the truth, Nie Mingjue pulls his younger brother into a side hug. “You gonna cook for us?”

Huaisang scrunches his nose and pushes himself away from his older brother. “Ugh, why would I do that? I’ll go ask the cooks to start something for all of us.”

With a quick peck to Jiang Cheng’s cheek (followed by a retching sound from Wei Wuxian), Huaisang hurries off towards the kitchen. Yanli follows him after pressing a kiss to Jiang Cheng’s forehead.

“With all that love, you’ll recover in no time,” Nie Mingjue jokes dryly.

“Oh, would you like to join in on the love pool, da-ge?” Wei Wuxian teases. “Between the four of us, I’m sure Jiang Cheng will be flying in a month!”

“Hey! Who gave you the right to call him da-ge?” Jiang Cheng chastises. If his brother wasn’t standing on his crutch well out of Jiang Cheng’s reach, he definitely would have slapped him.

“Huaisang did!” Wei Wuxian answers. “Just last night he said ‘We’re all simply didi and meimei to my da-ge’.” He takes on a peaceful, almost Buddha-like, stance as he recites Huaisang’s words.

“That’s not permission!” Jiang Cheng argues.

“He was right, though,” Nie Mingjue chuckles. “You’re all around my didi’s age, after all. You can call me da-ge.” With that, he takes the handles of Jiang Cheng’s wheelchair and begins pushing him towards the kitchen. Despite the crutch, Wei Wuxian manages to keep up with Nie Mingjue’s long strides. “Now, then, let’s get some dinner.”

~~~

The following weeks in the Nie mansion are nice. Before the house burned, the siblings were spread about, steadily finding their own lives away from the nest. Wei Wuxian practically lived with Lan Wangji as he built his music career, Yanli was doing well for herself as an art curator, and Jiang Cheng was learning the how to run his family’s ship building company. They met for weekly family dinners and texted often, but that was the extent of their contact. So despite the uncertainty that lays outside Nie walls, it is rather nice to have his siblings around and nearby.

Best of all, though, is Huaisang. Jiang Cheng began dating him after graduating college, so they’ve been together for nearly two years. Truth be told, before his world went to shit, Jiang Cheng was heavily considering asking Huaisang to move in with him. And now that he’s here, he’s got the shared-house experience with his boyfriend. Sure he’s stuck to a wheelchair, and he can barely do anything because of a concussion, and there’s a near-constant dull pain on his entire left side, but—Huaisang. Huaisang is here and Jiang Cheng’s stupid besotted mind can barely focus on anything past that when it’s just the two of them.

One morning, though, as Jiang Cheng rouses with his head against Huaisang’s back, he hears a sniffing sound. Turning over, he finds himself face to face with a dog. A chow chow, specifically, with its large nose shoved in his face.

“…Hello?” Jiang Cheng whispers. He’s not certain if he’s dreaming, but he can hear Huaisang snoring next to him and can feel that dull pain in his left side. So he’s betting on being awake. He reaches out to touch the dog, but it backs away before he can touch it.

With some distance between them, Jiang Cheng can see the dog almost in full. Massive and bulky with long reddish-orange fur blanketing its frame. It stares back at him with a quiet, knowing look. The longer Jiang Cheng observes it, though, the more he realizes that the chow chow is…off, somehow. Its eyes are a bit too big, nose too long, paws larger than its body should allow. Its tail stands on full alert, unmoving, as it—damn it all—it maintains eye contact with Jiang Cheng.

“Can you hear me?”

The voice invades Jiang Cheng’s brain, echoing and throbbing. He screams.

“You can! You can hear me!”

The dog’s tail begins to wag and its maw opens. A dark blue tongue lolls out over too-sharp teeth. Jiang Cheng swears there is a void where the back of the dog’s throat should be.

“What the fuck… What the fuck is happening!”

Jiang Cheng’s yelling rouses his bedmate. He hears Huaisang sit up, mumbling out a, “What the hell are you shouting for?”

“The dog!” Jiang Cheng screeches. Without taking his eyes off the apparition, he reaches behind him to touch Huaisang’s arm. “There’s a fucking—I don’t know what it is—a ghost dog? And it’s speaking to me!”

He feels Huaisang’s arm tense. The air is silent, tense, as Nie Huaisang peaks over his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“He can see you, Buttercup?”

Before Jiang Cheng can process that, the voice echoes in his brain again, splitting his head apart. “Yeah! Isn’t this exciting?!” The dog—Buttercup?—bounces on its front paws. “We don’t have to hide from him anymore!”

“Okay, what the fuck, stop doing that!” Despite his throbbing head, Jiang Cheng still manages to raise his voice. “It hurts, damn it!”

“Okay, don’t worry, A-Cheng.” Huaisang rests his hands on both of Jiang Cheng’s shoulders and squeezes. “I’ll explain everything soon.” A kiss to the temple, a surefire way to make Jiang Cheng relax in his boyfriend’s hold. “Buttercup, speak only to me for now, okay? This is still new for him.”

Jiang Cheng would object, but the pain in his head has reached his eyes and it’s hard to focus past that. He’s worried for a second that the concussion has worsened, but he’d sooner take the chance to rest than figure out if he needs to return to the doctor. He closes his eyes, desperate for the early morning sunshine to disappear. Huaisang continues speaking, but Jiang Cheng can’t make out the words. He hears the bedroom door open, but he doesn’t know if somebody came in or left. All he can know is the ringing in his ears and the grounding touch of Huaisang.

When Jiang Cheng comes to again, he’s seated at the dining table. Looking around, he recognizes he’s in the private dining hall. It’s smaller than the dining hall reserved for entertaining guests. The walls here, like the rest of the house, are arching and high, painted in a green-grey. A bull’s head is mounted on the wall opposite of Jiang Cheng, but that is thankfully the most morbid of the decorations. The rest of the room is covered in framed greyscale pictures of people Jiang Cheng doesn’t know. Decorative plates are lined up next to the entrance door. On the wall closest to Jiang Cheng, to his left, is a scroll depicting an artfully painted crane.

The table he’s sitting at is a nice mahogany, dark brown wood shining in its lacquer. Egg drop soup has been served in front of him. Looking up from the food, Jiang Cheng realizes that he’s not alone at the table. Huaisang is sitting with his older brother across from Jiang Cheng. At the far left side of the table, Yanli is sitting by herself, staring into her bowl with a tight gaze. At the far right is Wei Wuxian sitting next to Lan Wangji. They both look guilty as hell—well, as guilty as the stone-faced Lan Wangji can look. Everyone has a bowl of soup, but it seems nobody has dug in.

“Ah, you finally came to,” Nie Mingjue speaks up.

Four pairs of eyes immediately turn to focus on him. Huaisang breaks into a bright smile and reaches across the table, taking Jiang Cheng’s right hand. “We’re starving, A-Cheng. Let’s eat while we explain what’s going on.”

Jiang Cheng slides his eyes to meet Yanli’s. She smiles and nods approvingly.

The soup is still passingly warm, thankfully. While Jiang Cheng sips up the chicken broth and bits of tofu, Huaisang releases his hand to settle in his seat. He has the audacity to look ashamed, which irks him, because in Jiang Cheng’s very correct opinion, his boyfriend should only be happy.

“Do you want to start?” Huaisang asks his brother.

“You’re better at talking,” Nie Mingjue quips.

Huaisang makes a huge, put-upon sigh. “Okay, well… let’s start with Buttercup, huh?”

At her name, the dog suddenly appears to Jiang Cheng’s right. Straight out of thin-air. Jiang Cheng swears he can see space still settling around her form.

He expects to hear her voice echoing in his head again, but there is only silence in his ears. Huaisang, though, stares at her and says, “Yes, Buttercup, everything’s fine now. Please be silent while I start explaining.” He goes quiet again, snorts seconds later, before starting to talk again. “Okay, well… There’s a lot, so buckle in.”

“Can I get another serving of soup?” Wei Wuxian suddenly asks.

Before either Nie can answer, or Jiang Cheng can scold his brother for eating so fast, Lan Wangji takes Wei Wuxian’s bowl and walks towards the kitchen. Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes as Lan Wangji passes.

“Anyway,” Huaisang starts. “Um… A-Cheng, Yanli-jie… This is Buttercup. She’s a hellhound.”

“There’s nothing hell-like about her,” Jiang Cheng immediately interrupts. Were it not for the headache-inducing voice and ability to appear out of nowhere and general wrongness, she’d actually be rather cute.

“They’re not actually from Hell, Jiang Cheng,” Wei Wuxian immediately responds.

“What? You already know about this?!”

Wei Wuxian has the decency to look ashamed. “Well… yeah… This’ll come up, promise!”

“Yeah, believe it or not, your brother factors into this whole mess,” Nie Mingjue says.

“That’s not surprising at all,” Jiang Cheng deadpans.

“I have to agree…” Yanli mumbles.

“Not fair, jiejie!” Wei Wuxian cries.

“Strange things happen around you, A-Xian,” Yanli responds with her best tired smile.

“Can I continue now?” Huaisang asks, an exhausted edge to his voice.

“Yes” and “Sorry” respond to him in chorus. Lan Wangji returns to the room with a steaming bowl of soup and silently serves Wei Wuxian, who wastes no time digging in again.

“Great, thank you, as I was saying…” Huaisang flicks out his fan and begins gently fanning himself. “We just call her type hellhounds. Really, she’s a spectral dog. Cadejo, barguests, grave hounds, etcetera. You’ve heard of them in plenty of myths and folktales. Buttercup is one of them.”

“I have one, too,” Nie Mingjue says. With a whistle, another dog appears in the room. This one is larger and longer than Buttercup. It holds its head high, regal as it stares down the Jiang siblings with too-knowing, too-bright brown eyes. Shadows settle around its form into long, stringy fur, darker than night yet seemingly fluffy. Its jaw is too large to fit perfectly on its face and its lengthy tail disappears into the wall. In time, Jiang Cheng realizes that it looks like an Irish wolfhound drawn with near-perfect memory. “This is Baxia,” Nie Mingjue introduces with a proud smile. “She’s a quiet one, but she’ll warm up to you all in no time.”

“It is nice to meet everyone,” a deep, rumbling voice echoes in Jiang Cheng’s brain. There’s much less pain this time, but his head still protests at the intrusion.

“Don’t speak yet, Baxia,” Nie Mingjue softly reprimands. “They’re still new.”

“She was speaking?” Yanli interjects. The Nie brothers look at her with twin expressions of surprise.

“Huh… That’s interesting,” Huaisang mumbles.

“Maybe damage taken plays a role?” Wei Wuxian asks.

“Maybe,” Lan Wangji replies. “Her skull wasn’t fractured like Jiang Cheng’s.”

“But there was still head damage,” Nie Mingjue adds.

“Mind cluing us in to your conversation?” Jiang Cheng grumbles.

“Sorry, A-Cheng, I promise this will make sense soon. Yes, Yanli, Baxia was speaking. These spectral dogs… they’re from what we call the Otherworld. This is a lot to take in, but basically every folk monster you can think of more or less exists and they all come from the Otherworld. Spectral dogs are some of the most plentiful and usually attach themselves to people like us.”

Jiang Cheng puts his spoon in his empty bowl. “And who’s you?”

“Sovereigns,” Nie Mingjue answers. “That’s what the Otherworld folk like to call us. We…” he clears his throat, “we have a few abilities that allow us to interact with them.”

“It differs from person to person,” Huaisang continues. “Yanli, I think you only have what we call the Sight ability. You can see Otherworld creatures and talk to them, but you can’t hear them. You need to having the Hearing. Which, Chengcheng, you definitely have.”

Frustration builds in Jiang Cheng, pounding against his chest and gripping his throat. He taps the table, just a distraction, just an attempt to channel the fury inside him. “And why am I just now learning about this?”

“Would you have believe us if we told you? Oh, Jiang Cheng, by the way, there’s this whole spirit world that is super real and only a select few people know about it! Wow! Sucks that you can’t see these spectral dogs!” Wei Wuxian exclaims.

Which reminds him—“Why aren’t you freaking out at the dogs?”

Wei Wuxian grins at him, stupidly smug. “I’m too cool to worry about ghosts.”

“Wei Ying does not register them as real dogs,” Lan Wangji explains, much to the protests of Wei Wuxian.

“They…certainly don’t look real,” Yanli agrees. Jiang Cheng reaches out to take her hand. She accepts, clammy skin sliding over his cast.

“We would have liked to tell you,” Nie Mingjue says as he stands up. “But there is only so much the human brain can believe without physical proof.” He lifts his right hand and, in seconds, a spectral human appears in the room. Space shifts around her, light passing through her body. Jiang Cheng tries to study her features, but there is a strange barrier, a mist, which obscures her. As she nears him, the air turns cold, freezing him down to the bones. She takes his and Yanli’s empty bowls and carries them towards the kitchen.

“Was that a ghost?” Yanli asks, a tremble to her voice. Jiang Cheng rubs his thumb across her knuckles.

“Yes, and da-ge just exercised what’s called the Control ability. It allows a Sovereign to manipulate creatures from the Otherworld,” Huaisang explains.

Jiang Cheng nearly snaps at his boyfriend. But when he looks up, he is met with the expression he hates the most from Huaisang—stone-cold, hidden behind layers of thick skin, only his lips and eyelids moving. Jiang Cheng can’t read him when he’s like this. He only has experience to rely upon, and experience tells him that he needs to be kind now. If he is not, then his boyfriend will likely shutter away, further and further from Jiang Cheng until months of reconciliation attempts finally bring him back to the Huaisang that Jiang Cheng cherishes the most.

The early days of their romance were not kind. Huaisang’s life has not been kind. As Jiang Cheng digests this new secret, he believes he may have found another piece to the puzzle of why, exactly, this stone relief of his boyfriend exists.

Swallowing down the anger at his tongue, Jiang Cheng instead says, “So you don’t just have a ghost maid?”

Nie Mingjue snorts. “No, and she’ll likely be very angry at me later for that.”

Huaisang’s eyes dart to Buttercup. In a few seconds, he says, “Buttercup would like you to know that all Otherworld creatures have feelings like us. They do not take kindly to being controlled. But there are some vicious creatures we have no choice but to fight. That’s why Enchanters like da-ge and Lan Wangji are very vital. Ah! Enchanters is what we call people with Control.”

All attention shifts to Lan Wangji, who hums before saying, “I am not as powerful as Mingjue-ge or Xichen-ge. But I can control low-level spirits, like sprites.”

Yanli lets a shuddering exhale. “I believe a break would be beneficial. May I be excused?”

A frown tugs at Nie Mingjue’s lips as he steps around to Yanli’s side of the table. “Of course, Yanli. Allow me to guide you to the gardens.”

She takes the arm he offers her and stands up, releasing Jiang Cheng’s hand. “Gladly, Mingjue.” Cradling her forehead, Yanli walks away with Nie Mingjue, Baxia trailing after them, leaving the four boys and Buttercup to themselves.

“Can I speak alone with A-Cheng?” Huaisang asks. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are quick to agree.

With just the two of them, Jiang Cheng finds it easier to hold back the anger still boiling in his gut. Gripping the edge of the table, he manages to bite out, “I’m not mad at you.”

That brings a spark to Huaisang’s eyes. “Really?”

It’s still hard to talk about his feelings. But, well, he’s nearing twenty-five and therapy is proving wonders. “I’m mad at the situation, a-and not knowing so much, but, um… I’m not mad at you.”

“That sounded painful for you.”

That’s snark. Jiang Cheng chuckles, “Believe it or not you could tell me you’re an alien and I’d probably still love you.”

The stone on Huaisang’s face melts into awe and adoration. Smiling back the tears in his eyes, Huaisang replies, “I love you, too, puppy. More than anything. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner.”

Jiang Cheng sighs and leans back in his wheelchair. His grip on the table relents. Huaisang stands so he can come sit beside him. “Can you at least tell me why you all can see these things?” It’s still new to him and Yanli, and some of the things they said earlier hinted that it is not an in-born ability.

“It varies by person, but the most common catalyst is near-death experiences.” Despite the strain it must put on his back, Huaisang leans out of his chair to rest his head on Jiang Cheng’s shoulder. “Some people are born with their abilities, like the Lans. Some of the Wens we know were also born with it, like Wen Ning and Wen Qing. But… well, you know what happened to Wei Wuxian when he was a child, right?”

There were a few months between Wei Wuxian losing his parents and being found by Jiang Fengmian. Jiang Cheng gulps before responding, “He doesn’t tell me much about it, but I was there when he was in recovery. Don’t think I’ll ever forget when I watched the doctors re-do his bandages and I could see his muscles.”

“Yeah.” Huaisang takes Jiang Cheng’s hand and kisses his knuckles. “Things didn’t look good for you, either. I’m surprised Yanli-jie gained the Sight ability, but I guess head trauma counts as a near-death experience.”

“…And you?” Jiang Cheng whispers.

Huaisang goes silent. Thankfully, though, no stone grows on his face. In time, he answers, “Dad. When he got really sick. He got violent towards me and da-ge. Our moms tried to protect us, but…”

But when it came down to putting him in a mental institution, Huaisang’s extended family refused to endorse his admittance. And when it came to divorce, to removing the children from their abusive father, the extended family pulled their strings and the mothers—“Strangers,” Huaisang once spat, recounting the words of a cousin—were pushed out of the family without their sons.

It wasn’t until Nie Mingjue was twenty that the mothers were allowed back into the family. That was twelve years ago. While they no longer live in the mansion, Jiang Cheng has met them on multiple occasions. He can understand why losing them impacted Huaisang so heavily.

“I’m sorry,” Jiang Cheng says with a kiss to his boyfriend’s forehead.

“Things are better now,” Huaisang swears. “Plus, I gained a few new friends.”

“Like Buttercup?” Jiang Cheng asks, looking over to the spectral dog. She is sitting patiently, staring very directly at the couple, but her tail wags with the attention.

Nie Huaisang laughs. “Yes, exactly like Buttercup.”

~~~

The next few weeks are… a lot, to put it shortly. Between physical therapy, losing the cast on his arm, finally being cleared of his concussion, moving from wheelchair to crutches, and long nights with Huaisang, Jiang Cheng is being caught up on everything his brother and boyfriend have been hiding from him.

To start, those who can interact with the Otherworld—“Sovereigns and Enchanters,” Huaisang reminds him—are part of the Praeter Society. The name is different depending on region, but its English name is Praeter. There are already plans to induct Jiang Cheng and Yanli once they have finished recovering. And, as it turns out, most of their acquaintances are already part of the Praeter society. It sounds so hilariously convenient that it takes quite a lot of arguing to convince Jiang Cheng that, no, nobody is lying to him about the members.

“My theory is that gaining the abilities has a lot to do with proximity to other members!” Wei Wuxian adds unhelpfully.

“How does that work?” Yanli is the only one who bothers to ask.

“Thank you for asking, jiejie. You see, I think we all carry energy from the Otherworld—”

“Back to the subject at hand,” Huaisang interrupts.

The worst surprise, though, is who else in Jiang Cheng’s family is a member.

“My mother?!”

“We call her the Queen of the city,” Nie Mingjue informs him with an insufferably amused smirk.

“To be more accurate, she has a role of Leader for this area. There are only a few others with the distinction,” Huaisang explains as he pinches his brother’s cheek.

“Your father is a member, too, but he never graduated past the Sovereign status,” Nie Mingjue adds, unperturbed by his brother’s pinching.

Then, the actual worst information comes to light.

“Wei Wuxian, you’re responsible for our house getting burnt down?!”

“Hey! Not responsible!” Wei Wuxian defends. Lan Wangji puts his arm around Wei Wuxian’s shoulders and levels a heavy glare Jiang Cheng’s way.

“He really isn’t, A-Cheng,” Huaisang soothes as he rubs the back of Jiang Cheng’s neck. “We’ve heard the story multiple times by now. It was an honest accident.”

See, a week before their house was attacked and Jiang Cheng’s entire life changed, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had been visiting Wen Ning and Wen Qing at the Wen estate. Despite their bad relations with Wen Ruohan and his brood, the couple were allowed on the premises with the promise that they would never leave Wen Qing’s sight. They kept the promise, since Wei Wuxian was under the watchful eyes of at least two responsible parties (the Wen siblings).

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji followed the Wen siblings around the estate, trading stories and enjoying the company. But as evening approached, Wen Ning excused himself to go to the restroom, only to not return over thirty minutes later. Worried, Wen Qing went to search for him. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji tailed after her.

As it turned out, Wen Ning was simply bait in a trap laid by Wen Chao. The unscrupulous cousin in question wanted to play a prank on Wei Wuxian in retaliation for years of Wei Wuxian outdoing and mocking him at every turn. The Wens have a peculiar practice of studying spirits and the like from the Otherworld. All their many experiments were kept in a section of the estate. And that sacred place was where Wen Ning was found.

The problem here is that Wen Ning is easily possessed. And in this section of the estate were countless spirits and beasts, most hostile. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had no choice but to fight back.

And the real problem none of them were aware of until after the fact is that many of these spirits were the ghosts of ancestors. Moreover, decades of experimentation were lost to indiscriminate exorcism.

“So they decided to burn our house?!”

“It’s the Wens, what the fuck do you expect?”

Jiang Cheng sighs. It’s a lot to take in. Honestly, if he were learning all this a year ago, he’s pretty sure he would’ve flown off the handle and probably tried to expel Wei Wuxian from the family. But that was before therapy and many deep talks with Huaisang about life, death, and family. So as it stands right now, he’s pissed, but he’s taking it in stride best he can.

“Do we at least know where Mom is, then?” Jiang Cheng asks once he’s managed to calm down.

Wei Wuxian frowns and replies, “We’re pretty sure she’s laying low and digging up dirt on the Wens. We’ll need irrefutable proof if we’re gonna give them what for.”

“But she’s safe?”

Wei Wuxian grips his brother’s shoulder. “Of course. It’s Madame Yu. We both know a tornado couldn’t bring her down.”

~~~

About two months into recovery, Jiang Cheng and Yanli are given the clear to begin induction. Jiang Cheng still has to use crutches, but thankfully there’s no grand ceremony that’ll require him to stand or walk much.

In fact, it’s a very informal process. Fast-food restaurant informal.

“My apologies if you were expecting somewhere nicer,” Jin Guangyao says with his usual placating smile.

“It’s fine. We love the shakes here,” Yanli replies. It’s hard to tell how genuine she’s being.

The history between the Jiangs and the Jins isn’t bad, but it isn’t great, either. Yu Ziyuan and Madame Jin get along like sisters, but it’s not the same story for their children. Jiang Cheng doesn’t know the exact story between Yanli and Jin Guangyao, but he knows that the two don’t tend to stay in the same room together unless Jin Zixuan, the only person they both like, is present. But Jin Zixuan isn’t present. It’s just Jin Guangyao, Jiang Cheng, Yanli, and an exhausted Huaisang.

“Please don’t fight,” Huaisang begs. “We’re in public and A-Cheng kept me up last night.”

Yanli smiles in the way only a sister can. “I’m happy to know you two are getting along so well.”

Jiang Cheng sputters. “Not like that! We were watching a movie! Spirited Away!”

“Twice,” Huaisang clarifies. “The first time through, A-Cheng kept asking if any of the creatures are real, so we had to watch it again.”

As it turns out, the little charcoal helpers are real, but very rare.

“Ah, that’s one of my favorite movies,” Jin Guangyao says. An employee stops by their table to deliver a truly massive burger to him. “What was your favorite part, Jiang Cheng?”

Jiang Cheng glances at his sister. “…We can talk later. I’ll text you. Anyway. Praeter induction.”

“Right!” Jin Guangyao takes a sip of his beverage and begins with a simple run-down of roles in the Praeter. There are Leaders, like Yu Ziyuan, who are charged with protecting certain areas. Organizers, like Jin Guangyao, who keep tabs on all Sovereigns and Enchanters in an area. Searchers find possible Sovereigns and Enchanters. And, finally, the Fighters, who are the main line of defense against Otherworldly dangers.

“Since Miss Yanli is limited to the Sight ability, we would like her to take on a Searcher role,” Jin Guangyao continues after devouring his burger with impressive speed. “For you, Jiang Cheng, it’s up to you.”

Huaisang’s grip on Jiang Cheng’s hand tightens. “I think he should be a Fighter. He and Wuxian would make a good team.”

Jiang Cheng took up sword fighting classes with Wei Wuxian when they were kids. He’d definitely call their teamwork in tournaments pretty impressive.

“Or he could be a Searcher like you, Sang-di,” Jin Guangyao easily replies. There’s a coldness in his voice that sets Jiang Cheng on edge.

Nie Huaisang goes silent. He glares at Jiang Cheng with the ‘you better agree with me’ look.

“I’ll just be a Fighter. Wei Wuxian can show me the ropes.”

Jin Guangyao smiles in that annoyingly placating way. “All right, then. When you’re completely healed, we’ll send you on your first mission.” He reaches into his bag and pulls out a manilla folder. “Now, Miss Yanli, would you like to go over your role as a Searcher today?”

“I think I’m fine for now,” Yanli says as she puts a hand on Jiang Cheng’s shoulder. Her grip is tight. “I’d rather wait until my brothers are healed before I start anything.”

Jin Guangyao nods and replaces the manilla folder. “Very well. You have my number, so call me when you’re ready.”

The three of them leave Jin Guangyao in the restaurant. As they walk back to the car, Yanli and Nie Huaisang’s grips are still tight on Jiang Cheng. He’d really like to know what has them so on edge, but as he sees their sullen expressions in the reflection of car windows, he decides to ask another time.

~~~

‘Another time’ turns out to be a whole month later, when he’s been deemed back in full health and has returned to regular exercise and swordfights with Wei Wuxian. Jiang Fengmian has been discharged from the hospital, as well, but he’s deemed it better to focus on re-building the house. In addition, Yu Ziyuan has resurfaced, armed with testimony and physical evidence of the Wens attacking her home. There will be some time, however, before mundane courts will bring the Wens to justice. It will be longer still for the Praeter society to differentiate and weed out those in the Wen who still pose a threat to other Praeter members. So, in the interest of safety, the Jiang children will remain under Nie protection. Thankfully, Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan are the type to check in daily, so Jiang Cheng doesn’t miss them as much as he thought he would.

One chilly night, Huaisang crawls into bed next to Jiang Cheng looking like some haunted version of himself. Before Jiang Cheng can ask what’s going on, Huaisang whispers, “They’ll kill them, you know.”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Cheng asks, hand hovering cautiously next to his boyfriend’s wrist.

“The Wen. Those who the courts don’t manage to catch, they’ll be under strict scrutiny by the Praeter. Those who don’t pass the test will die.” He gulps. “Wen Qing and Wen Ning will be fine, I can promise you that, but if there’s anyone else there you care about, you have to tell me now.”

Jiang Cheng’s hand floats to Huaisang’s cheek and rubs away a tear. “You say that like you’ll be there.”

“I will,” Huaisang admits through a cracked voice. “It’s my job as a Searcher. We find people with the abilities. We figure out if they are a threat. We kill those who are.”

Jiang Cheng gazes at his boyfriend. Moonlight is pouring through the window next to the bed. Huaisang looks beautiful in it. He also looks so small and weak. He’s open, no stone in sight. Jiang Cheng cups his cheek. “Have you…?”

“No,” Huaisang immediately replies. “Not yet. But—”

“I’ll still be here if you ever do,” Jiang Cheng swears. “I’ll be here until the end, if you’ll let me.”

Huaisang gasps. He stares down at Jiang Cheng, mouth as wide open as his eyes. Soon, disbelief makes way for soft, breathy chuckles, the type that fill Jiang Cheng’s lungs with sunlight. “Careful, A-Cheng. I’ll fall further in love with you.”

“What if I want you to?” Jiang Cheng asks, guiding Huaisang down until their lips ghost against each other. “I love you, A-Sang. I’ll stay with you if you’ll stay with me.”

“When did you get so eloquent?” Huaisang teases, his eyes crinkling. “I love you, too, A-Cheng. I want to stay with you.”

“Good.” With that, he kisses him, deep and meaningful. Everything about this new world is strange and Jiang Cheng can barely keep up. But none of that matters, since that he has Huaisang by his side.

~~~

There’s a wraith terrorizing the town. Because of course there is.

“Those are tricky creatures,” Yu Ziyuan advises over the phone. “Only very strong Enchanters can control them.” In the background of the call, Jiang Cheng hears his father grunt in affirmation. “Make sure you don’t go alone.”

“It’s my first hunt,” Jiang Cheng replies. From his end of the call, he watches as Huaisang sketches out a map based on reports from Jin Guangyao. They’ve stationed themselves in a parlor room while the rest of their team prepares for the hunt. “Nobody will let me out of their sight.”

“I certainly won’t!” Wei Wuxian shouts from another room.

“Was that Wei Wuxian?” Yu Ziyuan asks. Jiang Cheng confirms. “Tell him that he can expect a lashing if you so much as get a cut tonight.”

Jiang Cheng relays his mother’s message.

“Nooooo!” Wei Wuxian whines, knowing full well that Yu Ziyuan is not being serious. “I promise, Auntie, I’ll take extra special care of Chengcheng!”

“He says he’ll abandon me at the first sight of the wraith,” Jiang Cheng lies. He hears Huaisang snort.

“It’s not good to lie,” Buttercup reminds him from her position at Huaisang’s feet.

“Don’t lie,” Yu Ziyuan scolds. The line goes silent for a few moments before Jiang Cheng hears his father’s voice.

“Be careful, A-Cheng. Stay close to Wei Wuxian, he’ll protect you,” Jiang Fengmian advises.

A familiar jealousy rumbles in Jiang Cheng’s chest. He squashes it in favor of watching his boyfriend draw. “I will. Either me or Wei Wuxian will call you when the wraith is gone.”

“Good,” Jiang Fengmian comments. “Pass the phone to Wei Wuxian. I want to talk to him.”

Barely restraining a decades-old frustration, Jiang Cheng calls Wei Wuxian over to take the phone. When his brother disappears into another room, Jiang Cheng moves to sit next to Huaisang.

“Drawing maps or doing math, which is more boring for you?” Jiang Cheng teases.

“Ugh, don’t remind me of math!” Huaisang complains. He steals a kiss from Jiang Cheng before saying, “But math. The maps are still kind of fun.”

Jiang Cheng hums and sneaks a hand onto Huaisang’s lower back, rubbing his fingers against the cloth of Huaisang’s shirt. Huaisang leans into the touch with a happy rumble. “Will you be coming with us?” Jiang Cheng eventually asks.

“Of course I will!” Nie Huaisang exclaims. “They try to have a Searcher on hand for most of these exorcisms. I’ll have to keep my distance when we find the wraith, but I’m not going to abandon my boyfriend.”

Jiang Cheng grips the back of Huaisang’s shirt and lays his head against his shoulder. “Speaking of boyfriends…”

“Oh my god, are you going to propose before your first exorcism?” Huaisang interrupts.

Jiang Cheng does not blush, thank you very much. “N-no! I—” his voice drops to a whisper, “I was going to ask you if you wanted to get an apartment together after this all blows over.”

“Oh thank god you only want cohabitation,” Huaisang sighs.

“…Is getting engaged to me so bad?” Jiang Cheng mumbles, eyebrows knitted together.

“N-no…” Huaisang stutters. Jiang Cheng peers up and catches a splash of red highlighting Huaisang’s freckles. “It’s just too soon, is all. But…” Huaisang twists in his chair so that he’s facing Jiang Cheng, a fiery determination in his eyes. “If you ever do want to get married, I’m all for it.”

Jiang Cheng smiles and kisses Huaisang. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, A-Cheng.”

“Break it up, lovebirds!” Nie Mingjue shouts. He lumbers into the parlor room with a massive and stuffed duffel bag slung over his shoulder. “You got that map done, didi?”

“Almost,” Huaisang replies, taking pen to paper. “Just a few more minutes.”

“Good,” Nie Mingjue says with a nod. He turns his attention to Jiang Cheng and tosses him a sword in a purple sheath. “That’ll allow you to fight beings from the Otherworld. Wei Wuxian and Wangji have one, too.”

“You bet we do!” Wei Wuxian exclaims as he and his boyfriend bound into the room. Wei Wuxian holds up two swords, one in a red scabbard and the other in a white scabbard. Much to Jiang Cheng’s immediate annoyance, the red scabbard has been thoroughly decorated, so it looks like a group art project where nobody could decide on a theme. “We’re going to have so much fun, Jiang Cheng!”

“Fucking gross,” Jiang Cheng grumbles. “Hey, A-Sang, can I go on a different mission? One that doesn’t involve eyesores?”

“A-Xian is not an eyesore,” Lan Wangji instantly objects.

“You’re all eyesores when it comes to fashion,” Huaisang mutters.

“That’s fair,” Wei Wuxian says with a good-natured laugh. He slips Jiang Cheng’s phone back into its owners hands. “Hey, you got that map done yet?”

“Just finished!” Huaisang responds as he holds up several large sheets of paper. Each one details a different area with notes on where and when the wraith has appeared. “I think we should start with the church, since it pops up there the most often.”

“Agreed,” Nie Mingjue pipes in. “Jiang Cheng, you ready?”

Jiang Cheng looks down at his sword, then over at Huaisang. All of this is, to a certain degree, still new. Still scary. If this happened a year or two ago, he probably would have run into it headfirst, determined to prove himself good at something, anything. But so much is different now. There’s a strangeness he has to tackle, but he has the good sense not to tackle it alone.

Jiang Cheng takes Huaisang’s hand, squeezes, and says, “Yeah, I’m ready to go.”

#mo dao zu shi #mdzs #jiang cheng #nie huaisang #wei wuxian #lan wangji #sangcheng #wangxian #sometimes i write

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llazyneiph · 5 years ago

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its been a busy fuckin week for this mod my ladz!!! i thought i would just give an end of week run down how everything is going, everything added so far and my to do list! also discord!!! and patreon!!! but i’ll talk abt that after this!! a general run down if u dnt know what this wip mod is:

The Royalty Mod gives your sims the opportunity to being the reigning Monarch of your game. They have the chance to become a Beloved Ruler or a Despised Tyrant (and will be treated as such!) They will be completely in control of a custom tax system, will the be benevolent and keep the taxes low or be greedy and fill their coffers with their subject’s simoleans? Be careful though, your actions will affect your citizens and their views of you! Your Monarch will be the most important piece of the puzzle, as they will be able to give titles to family and friends... or even a random street vendor. Having your Monarch bestow titles such as Crown Royals, Royal Partners, Servants, Court Wizards and more, keeps you out of CAS and IN your game! No more stopping and starting your gameplay!

A general overview of everything included so far:

Monarch: - A custom Heir system: Your Monarch can choose anyone bestowed with the title of Crown Royal or Royal Partner to become the next in line to the throne! And if they decide they made a mistake, the Heir can be disowned :((( sad lyfe As soon as the Monarch passes away, the Heir will automatically claim the throne! - If your Monarch dies before they get a chance to name an heir, then any Crown Royal or Royal Partner can vie for the throne. Whoever the people choose (gets to reputation level 6 - very good) first, will become the next Monarch! - Teens and up can become the Monarch, (lookin at u edward the 6th) - Custom tax system! Raise taxes to get more money instantly and in your weekly tax collection, but incur the ire of your subjects! Lower taxes and you will lose money and earn less each week but your subjects will love you! - Your Monarch will draw a crowd wherever they go! Even with no fame points they’ll attract a mass of adoring onlookers. (But no paparazzi for my historical players) - Make world-wide decrees - Listen to your subjects pressing concerns by telling your Trusted Advisor that you will hold a hearing, get that gud gud karma!! - Make anyone a Crown Royal! - Make the land celebrate your own birthday with a new Monarch’s Birthday tradition, with custom goals to be met! - Don’t walk like the rest of these peasants, make sure to enable your royal stride to royally stand out from the crowd. Not enough? Enable your regal glow to really drive home that you’re better than everyone else! - Royal greetings! - Allow your subjects to commence Sunday trading on a lot with the Market lot trait! Townies will come and man the stalls every sunday 9-3 and the royal family can peruse and purchase to their hearts content! -probably more that im forgetting!!!

Heirs, Crown Royals & Royal Partners: - Titles are bestowed by the monarch, crown royals & heirs can be titled at birth and Royal Partners can be titled after marriage! - Both can be named as Heir, and both can vie for the throne if the Monarch dies unexpectedly! - Your Monarch can make anyone a Crown Royal, so if you gameplayed that your Monarch adopted a poor orphan kid, then they can have a shot at the throne too! - All have multiple different social and skill modifiers, so they can make new friends fast and be better at everything than them! - Also all have their own socials - ALSO all can be completely banished from the royal family - u can defo marry into the royal family if u wanted, and make ur peasant family the next gen of royals ;))) - loads more but im so tired

Trusted Advisor: - Your Monarch will choose their trusted advisor! they advice! u on stuff! so choose wisely! - everything about taxes, beginning situations, domestic affair (and planning to add LOADS more) goes thru ur advisor, just like it does in real life and by real life i mean i think i just made that up - way more 2 come bros

- brand spankin new custom animations!!!!!!!!!!

Planned to Add (p much the same as last post): - unlockable interactions based on skills such as charisma - bad monarch reputation and tyrant trait to have the possibility of triggering a revolt??? - Custom situations to trigger weekly events such as royal hearings, banquets ect. - custom situations to trigger a bunch of npc servants (big maybe) - Mass Excitement over royal babies - Mass Mourning over passed over Monarchs - Mass Excitement over new Monarch - Options for crown royals to steal the throne - Sentence to death - Way more custom socials - looking into craftables - Perhaps more of a focus on the working class - more magicky type interactions for court wizards - just like. so much more. but its 1:30am and my brain has stopped working

ok now i wrote this out it rlly doesn’t look like a lot but i have so many gatdamn plans for shit i still gotta add. plus i will probably end up making hair and a few clothes and objects too. also omg guys im totally gonna make one of those fancy fuckin trailers for youtube :))))))))))) also was i on fiverr lookin at voice actors to narrate it...? maybe bitch

anyway i said i would talk abt patreon so here it is!!!

first things first, let me just say that no, i absolutely do not think i am entitled to a single cent of anyone’s money!!! I would/will still put 110% into this mod and my future mods because I absolutely love doing this. At the moment I’m currently working on this mod about 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week (animations bruh), which is kinda insane. but I want this to be everything everyone’s wanted from EA for years.

I made a Patreon for those who would like to support me. If you do decide to become a Patron I am endlessly thankful for that, not just the monetary value of it but the fact that you believe in me enough to do that.

Every cent of any pledge goes towards my saving fund for my course next year, which for those of who don’t know, I’m currently a first year Game Design student!!! In complete clarity, I’m looking at a $15,000 loan atm, so literally anything helps if u do decide to pledge!

Tiers start at $1 and all tiers have access to a private patrons channel in my discord! u can go read what u get with the tiers over on my page! I’ve offered as much as I can, but since im super not down with exclusives, pls let me know if u think there’s anythin more i can offer u guys!!!

Tier 2 does include a one week early access to my content. I feel like this is the most I’m comfortable offering, and I will always stick to or under EA’s rules when it comes to Patreon.

Tier 2 also offers first picks for Beta Testing, but depending on how many (if any) tier 2 patrons I get, it may work on a rotational system as I still want to include people from tumblr in the beta testing. I don’t want anyone who can’t afford patreon to feel left out, so I would still offer some beta testing spots here and it’ll be first come first served like normal! i don’t want it to feel like i’m gatekeeping my cc. i hope this is okay with you guys! For those who aren’t in a place where they can become a patron, but still want to stay included in everything related to this mod, I now have a Discord Server that anyone can join! speaking of >>>>

we have a discord ladzzzz!!!!!!!!!

If u wanna stay up to date on everything I’m doing regarding the mod, or u have a question or suggestion, or there's something wrong with one of my mods that u need fixed, or tbh if u just wanna hang out with some cool dudeeees n chill n chat n have a jolly time then com join the discord!!!!!!!!

i’m going to be posting updates and screenshots of the mod process much more frequently there (probs like a few times a day tbh lmao) and it’s much easier to get a hold of me there if u have any suggestions.

and tbh we just gonna have a chill time and i want a metric fuckton of memes and gifs. if that doesn’t sway u, we have a whole channel dedicated to only pics of guy fieri. u will be banned if u post anything else there. u were warned.

ok god im so sorry this is literally 10 years long but i just had a lOT to say but like, mods goin good lads. i just want to make something that gives the game more play ability and keeps u in game and out of CAS. its excitin stuff. thanks for listenin.

PATREON | DISCORD SEVER

see all royalty mod updates on my tumblr here

also im v sorry if u join the discord like right after this is posted bc i am most definately fuckin asleeeeeeep

#ts4 mod #ts4 mod wip #royalty mod #mod #discord #ts4 discord #ts4 #sims 4 #the sims 4

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theharellan · 4 years ago

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THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm. tagged by: stolen from @dansiere tagging: @ghiassan, @deathsreflection, @altuspavus, @windrunnerrs (velanna), @hopewrought, @willbeshot, @seahaloed (iron bull), @asterfed (noctis), @ anyone who wants to steal it! also multis feel free to choose a different character

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated (i’m open to roleplaying with non-dragon age characters, and have AUs for other fandoms)

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. solas is both wildly popular and wildly hated. he’s been more consistently popular than the controversial women in the series, like sera or vivienne, who have only recently begun to get to the point where their tags are less vitriolic (although i’m sure it’s still out there), but there’s still a sizable hatedom that can’t have his name breathed in their vicinity w/o them talking abt how much they hate him. even if you’re currently cosplaying him!

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK. again, you have ppl who are super into him and ppl who think he’s ugly. my personal opinion is that i think he’s weirdly pretty, and wish ppl would commit more to his unconventional features rather than try to chisel him into sb more traditionally attractive and that ppl who don’t find him attractive would maybe chill w/ calling him ugly. find him unattractive by all means, but lets embrace the fact that inquisition let their love interests have skin flaws etc and accept that some won’t be our cups of tea.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK. its hard to deny at this point tbh.

Are they underrated? YES / NO / IDK. frustrating as the hate in the tags he has enough fans that i couldnt say he’s underrated w/ a straight face.

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO. he’s the reason the game starts with a bang and not the inevitable dissolution of the conclave b/c the sides are disparate.

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. regardless of solas’ relationship with the inquisitor, there are parallels and contrasts in their stories and he also is the reason they survive inquisition.

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO. fen’harel is well-known and revered, if feared, among the dalish, yet at the same time he’s not remembered for a lot besides locking the gods away-- and the context of that decision has also been lost. as solas he’s relatively unknown until inquisition and especially trespasser.

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. again, polarising!! he has loyal agents and people are willing to speak well of him despite everything, including his enemies sometimes (depending mostly on the inquisitor).

How strictly do you follow canon? — generally i try to have a canon basis for my interpretation, even if i interpret the text differently than the author.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals. — solas is an immortal who is simultaneously jaded and very much invested in the small moments of life. far from being weary of the day-to-day lives of ordinary people, it is systems and orders he is most tired of. he walks an interesting line that feels far less misanthropic than other immortal characters i’ve experienced, yet still he’s quite cynical. as a character who has fought against religious based tyranny before, but in a completely different era, he is in a unique position where what he sees around him is both horrifyingly familiar and yet completely new. it allows an exploration of the wrongs of thedas’ society from an outsider’s perspective. his motivations are complex and multifaceted, often condemnable and yet also understandable. his character arc in inquisition (if befriended, or regardless in the case of my solas) takes him from a dispassionate, disconnected antagonist to someone deeply invested in the people of thedas, deeply conflicted and actively hoping he will be proven wrong again. i think his story is a testament to human (or elven, or dwarven, or-) connection and how even when we resist we can’t resist creating bonds with the people in our lives. i personally see this bond going beyond the inquisitor hence why i play low-approval solas as conflicted as high-approval, if not when it comes to the inquisitor.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?). — solas is selfish and motivated solely by revenge, he’s clinging to a past that clearly no longer exists, if you ignore all the people from it who are still alive. he’s totally unaware of all his flaws and never owns up to any mistakes ever. no, i haven’t listened to a single word solas has said in my life why do you ask. he’s also critical of my faves which means he’s #cancelled, there is clearly no validity to what he’s saying. ksjdf no but in all seriousness i think a lot of reasons ppl don’t find solas interesting are just... weird readings of his character that sometimes have no basis in the text of inquisition, but also there are plenty of perfectly valid reasons to not find him interesting. usually those ppl don’t like... talk abt how much they don’t find him interesting constantly tho. they just chill and aren’t invested in this particular villain. for one thing i think the game missed out on opportunities for exploring how someone who may not have even had a body at the beginning of his existence would feel about gender and sexuality, so making him presumably straight and cis was a boring choice. i also think that the dragon age games being very protagonist-centric hurts solas’ character, there’s no real reason why the inquisitor is the only one who can throw his plans into question but making the player the center of the universe means he’s not allowed to change due to the effects of other companions or NPCs. thank god this is rp and i do what i want.

What inspired you to rp your muse? — i have a history degree so when the inquisition companions were being teased, solas describing bias in primary sources from the memories he’s seen got me interested in him. but my first playthrough i didn’t actually take him with me all too often, i think my main party was dorian-blackwall-varric. i liked him, and i think he or dorian were my first friends in skyhold, but my initial interest was in other characters. between his dialogue that appealed to the historian in me tho and how his spirit opinions sort of turned everything i’d felt about spirits in the last two games on its head, i started vibing with him more the farther i went in. like merrill set me up for the “spirits are people” thing and solas hit it out of the park. then temple of mythal happened, and i did bring solas with me there. i found his dialogue fascinating and also suspicious, i’d just finished masked empire like the day before da:i came out so i definitely thought solas was an ancient elf in the same vein as felassan. it was after temple of mythal that i actually decided to make his blog, although like as one idk linchpin to cement my status as solas trash... i was hit BAD by the banter bug on my first playthrough, probably got like a dozen banters total. but then at some point late in the game i took solas to the forbidden oasis and he wouldn’t stop talking to people, and i really loved his banter with the rest of my party at the time.

What keeps your inspiration going? — replaying inquisition, new DA content when the bioware gods deign to grant us a lifeline, but the biggest thing is my rp partners. i wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the people i write with, new and old. my activity of late hasn’t been the best, work and the summer heat has really been sapping me of energy, and does even during years when we aren’t going through a pandemic. but it’s the thought of my rp partners and love of solas that keeps me coming back.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? i have my doubts sometimes, but i think i do ok.

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO / SORT OF? there is no headcanon too small for me.

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO. but not lately * gestures to the low activity * i’ve been in this cycle where i get anxious abt late replies, so prioritise them, then burn myself out and can’t write the fics i want. i’ve had two i’ve been DYING to write tho i just... need to find the space in my brain to let myself.

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO. i mean it depends on the day. if i work closing shifts at my store it gets very quiet and boring around 8:30 so i spent the next 90 minutes thinking about character stuff.

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO / SORT OF?

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO / SOMETIMES.

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO / SORTA.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal? — i’m going to say ‘no’ because like, i don’t ask for criticism. this is a hobby based on my interpretation of a character, if you think i write solas too soft then you’re welcome to think that, but i’m happy with the balance i’ve struck with his internal versus external behaviour and how he changes based upon who he’s speaking to. if you think i’m erasing straight people by making solas pan then ksjdfs. ok.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character? — yes!!! even if they retread ground already trodden, a) my interpretation may have adjusted since the last time i played or b) a reminder is nice. if it’s new stuff then it’s fun to think about.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why? — it’d depend on why they disagree. if they just disagree on a subjective opinion about what i took from a certain line, then they’re welcome to their opinion but i don’t necessarily care to hear it. if it is unintentionally hurtful then i would like to know. although rather than a comment i’d rather a non-anonymous message.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it? — same as the above.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it? — if they’re vocal about it i typically just unfollow / softblock if i was following in the first place. people can feel how they want about solas, but i’ve found over the years that if people really hate solas ooc it can often bleed into their ic interactions. it’s really weird seeing your character being brought up repeatedly in threads with others specifically to dunk on, for no reason other than i guess solas is living rent free in their heads, so at least we have that in common. but anyway unfollowing is just the best choice to avoid getting kinda pressed if i’m having a bad day.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors? — roleplay is the wild west of writing, so i think it’d depend on what the error was. coming at me like “you shouldn’t start a sentence with a preposition” would get a laugh, but i don’t edit my replies much if at all and mistakes will 100% happen. pointing out typos is chill so long as you do it politely.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun? — it depends! i’ve learned that being too easy going actually just means i’m subjecting myself to negative emotions to please people. so i’ve gotten less easy going as the years go by. how does one define “easy going” anyway? does asking that question mean i am objectively not easy going? the longer this thought goes on the more the answer seems to be “probably not,” but i like to think it could be a lot worse.

#( long post )#( ooc )#( about me )

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tiffotcf · 6 years ago

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Tagged by @eyeliner-vampire back in Aug 2018. (I’m only 8 month’s late, it’s totally cool)

Rules: Answer 10 questions, write 10 questions, and tag 10 people

1. Do you name your characters with nicknames in mind, or prefer to call them by whole name only? OR what’s your wackiest/coolest character name to date?

100% I always think about possible nicknames when I pick character names. As someone who lives now by what was once a nickname I think names given by those who come into your life can have a pretty big impact. Especially, if the character felt like they didn’t have a place that they belonged before.

2. Do you talk about your WIP to others or prefer to keep it close to the chest?

It kinda depends, I think I mostly keep things to myself unless it is someone that I have specifically decided that they will be my sounding board for this story. Or if I am talking about the story to someone who I know will never read it. Then I will spoil them all day. because I am talking to them about story crafting and not just this work in particular.

I don’t like to talk about something that is coming up with people who might read it because I want to know what they think of the actual story as it presents itself, that way I know if it is working.

3. What’s something you’ve learned during your growth as a writer?

Oh man, a lot of things. Like personal ways of thinking about things and like stylistic things. And of course true to writing I can’t think of anyone thing in particular now.

I think something with my recent edits to KH that I kind of learned/evolved in is letting the audience fill in the gaps. When I did my re-read & edits there were times where I realized I was hinting at how things were going and then I would just flat out say them and I realized that the second part was probably redundant so I cleaned a lot of things up so that there are more things for the audience to piece together but that it is still clear what is going on.

The other BIG thing I tried to evolve with is giving the characters agency even if it means I don’t get the ‘moment’ or trope that I wanted. Especially because often I found that if I let them act things ended up falling into place just not in the way I had originally forced it to.

4. What’s your average number of characters in your works? Do you think you could handle more/less?

Hmm, this varies. Though in general I think of stories in terms of novels. It is really hard for me to think of a short story and that means that I have a long list of massive stories that I want to do and I can never get anything out and done. KH eneded up at about 100k words and I am happy to have others end up just as long if not longer.

5. What’s your religion system like in your WIP? Is there one?

Well one of my WIPs has a relationship with Buddhism but who knows if that story will every get done.

Religion in most of my other stuff is either not mentioned or it is a tool and belief system of various secondary characters.

6. How do you balance your writing with daily life?

I can’t and I really need to find a way to do so because I really miss writing and desperately need to get back into it.

7. Are there any stories behind any of your characters, creation wise or other?

Uh, depends on the story.

For KH obviously the main characters are based on the series characters, so for that I will talk about the two main original characters.

Yuuki Oshiro- he is the bad kind of ‘soft boy’ he has been sort of dismissed by his family and kept quiet about it. But when he finally finds the strength to do something for himself he goes about it in allllll the wrong ways. He expects the world to pay him back for all the poor treatment he has received and he doesn’t think of others in pursuit of this expectation.

Fun Fact: Since it might not have been obvious in the book, Mai’s is not the first body Yuuki tries to steal for Eloise. He actually got his feet wet in the body stealing game by trying to have Eloise possess his brother’s wife. :/ (there is a whole world of issues wrapped up in there) And it was his and Eloise’s attack on her that leads his brother to call on SPR.

Jack Murphy- He’s an actual narcissist; self-important, lacks any sort of empathy, fantasies about power, has a MASSIVE sense of entitlement, has a history of exploiting others for personal gain, and as most of you know he is directly based on my old boss. He’s a real piece of work and some of the worst things he says are basically things I got to hear IRL. One positive of working with that thing. Good story fodder.

8. What’s your setting like in three words or less.

Uh, I guess I will do this for the story I am supposed to be working on ATM

Wet, salty, hot (ewww, I don’t really like it when I say it like this)

9. How many different colors/shades are you currently utilizing in your WIP? Do you use color for any specific reason (emotion, tone, etc)?

oh color, Well in this story blue will be a thing I think for sure. Turquoise blue, like a coral pink, and maybe gold. Hmmm. I find that color tends to come for me as I am writing and then I will end up seeing a pattern emerging that I can end up leaning into as I move forward or go back and edit.

10. Do you gain inspiration from any source outside of writing (video games, rp, real life, dreams, etc)?

Sure, I think about everything in terms of story telling. When I over did it at the gym last week and had to lay on the floor trying not to puke or pass out. I tried to think about how to describe how this felt and how my trainer was acting as she worried over me and my reactions to her. ( I wish I had a video of it to know what it looked like) But I totally was thinking about how I want all of this information for a scene where someone has fought hard against something but eventually they are reaching their limit and their body just turns against them and they can’t anymore. I also thought about how much that experience exhausted me for the rest of the day and how it was effecting me hours and even a day or two later.

I have thought about wiring out the stories that I started when I did TTRPG with my friends. We all got too busy and stopped playing all of our various games at this point but I love a number of the stories that we started with and the variety of characters we had and since we stopped I think about just continuing things but... I don’t have the time. Need to work on the stuff I have.

These two long rants are to say yes. Inspiration from almost everywhere.

Questions Time!

Because of how my brain works a lot of these are linked to one another.

1.If you could write anywhere, where would you write?

1a. What is the weather there?

1b. What do you hear/ are listening to?

1c. What are you drinking/eating?

2.If you could come up with any story, your dream story, what would the setting be?

3. Do you have any preferred patterns for setting yourself up to write or rituals that help you get into the flow?

4 Can you write for just a few moments at a time here and there or do you need larger chunks of time to even get started?

5. What is your favorite piece of work?

6. What is its main theme? What about it holds you so deeply?

7. Pick a character you are writing/like to write, where is their favorite place to go?

8. What is their favorite sound? food? time of day?

9. What would the character you were just thinking of have to say about you?

10. When you are stuck how much compassion do you show yourself?

Tagging time!

@sprghosthunter , @seoulsborne123 , @radiowrites , @amynchan @taniyamamaiumi, @megabadbunny, @samantha-girlscout,

@frenchcirce, @csakuras, @snavej

#the write stuff #tiffo time #another meme bites the dust

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canaryatlaw · 6 years ago

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okay I should write, but it’s officially been my birthday for 40 minutes!! So that’s fun. sadly I’ll have to entertain myself for most of the day, but I’ll probably sleep in and then maybe go out to some of the shops on main street (like Francesca’s) and do some shopping, and then later on I’m gonna go to Olive Garden with Jess and then to see Captain Marvel and then get ice cream for part 1 of birthday celebrations, part 2 will be on Saturday when we can go up to where they have the cheesecake factory and the fancy movie theatre where we will go to eat and see Shazam, so I’m excited for that. But anyway, today. I was in and out of sleep for a bit before getting up around 1ish. I spent a while just getting breakfast and checking things out on my computer. When I was done with that, I grabbed the receipt the dry cleaner’s had given me to get their phone number, the clothes were supposed to be ready by today but the receipt said “ready by 5 pm” on that day, so I wanted to call and make sure they were ready before I came down there, so I called and they said they were so I got ready and started walking there. It was like high 30′s today which is colder than the last few days at least so I grabbed my winter coat, but that was definitely a mistake as I started overheating very quickly. I made the walk down and stopped at the chase bank along the way to get cash since the dry cleaner’s had signs saying “cash payments are appreciated” and Chase is my bank so I get free ATM use, so I stopped in there and got some cash from the ATM before continuing on. The whole transaction was easy enough, I gave them the receipt and they brought the clothes out, I paid the amount specified and was good to go. Since I was now carrying a decent amount of clothing, I was gonna see if I could catch the bus back instead of walking the half a mile or so it is carrying the clothes, but this would depend how close the next bus was since it’d be pointless to wait for it for like 10 minutes. so I checked the bus tracker and it said the next one was only 3 minutes away, so I was pleased with that. the bus was kinda crowded and stopped at every stop along the way, but it was at least less physical exertion and knowing that my arms would’ve been killing me if I walked home. so I got home and put the clothes away, and then started my next task of dyeing my hair. I do dearly love my bright red hair, but I’m at the point where I can’t let something as stupid as hair color jeopardize my chance of getting a job, especially when I have *the* interview on Wednesday, so it had to go. I can’t even remember the last time I used a box kit on my own hair, but it got the job done. It was like a auburnish color, brown and red mix kind of. I was a little worried it wouldn’t quite turn out that color because the hair it was going on was so bright, but that didn’t end up being a problem. but yeah, I’ve done this enough to know how it works, so getting it in wasn’t an issue. it said to only wait 25 minutes before rinsing which seemed kind of short to me, but I kept to it pretty much. They said no shampoo for 24 hours, just rinse and use their conditioning thing, the same basic stuff, so that was no problem. Once I was done with that I set out to do my final planned task for the day, which was cleaning up the kitchen, mainly by taking out the trash and doing the dishes. The trash was WAY overdue to be taken out, to the point where there were some paper bags outside the trash bin also filled with trash. so I tried to pull the overstuffed bag out, only to find the bottom of it had ripped, and leaked god knows what all over the bottom of the trash bin. WELL CRAP. so I had to grab another trash bag and stretch it into the trash bin, then lower the first one into it and over it so it wouldn’t leak everywhere. it was....difficult lol. But I took that out along with the paper bags and the cardboard for recycling. I did my best to clean most of what I could out of the trash bin, but some of it I just couldn’t reach despite my best efforts, so I ended up just putting a new trash bag in and figured we’ll deal with it at some point in the future. From there I started doing the dishes, putting away the clean ones and washing through the dirty ones, then putting those away, so everything in the kitchen was handled. It was fairly close to 7 when Arrow was on at this point so I got some dinner and went to the den and turned the tv on for that, set to livetweet for the dctvpodcasts twitter account. Interesting episode, probably kept my attention more than most of the episodes so far this season, but that’s not saying very much I suppose. It was fairly obvious to me that Emiko was all in with the bad guys, not being coerced into it. I was NOT PREPARED for the reveal in the last flashback regarding the queen’s gambit, though I was a little confused as to who exactly was pulling the strings and who did the actual work there, was she working with Merlyn or what? weird. Otherwise in the plot, my lawyer brain had to jump to the obvious 4th amendment issues with Felicity’s proposed tracking system. not that they would care about silly little things like constitutional rights here. The whole subplot with Dinah and Laurel was?? weird?? normally I enjoy my girls interacting but this week was just kinda funky. I am of course looking forward to what next week will bring since it of course features the return of Sara which I am eagerly awaiting, so here’s hoping that will be a great episode. After Arrow was over I switched over to 9-1-1 which had just started, which was a pretty good episode. I swear this show makes me cry every damn week lol it plays on my emotions very well, but I very much enjoyed the plot with Howie the firefighter guy (still terrible with character names) and his journey as to how he got where he was and of course for it to end with him being stabbed and unconscious after encountering Maddie’s violent ex-husband who was coming to kidnap her. So I guess we’ll have to wait until next week to see how that plays out. After that I switched over to The Fix since that was airing then. It was a decent episode, I’m not totally in love with the show but it’s had some good moments. It’s VERY obvious they’re closely tracking the OJ case and what might have been if he had ended up in this situation (which is of course to be expected given that one of the writers/producers is the OJ prosecutor). It’s interesting for me to see the tactics the defense attorney was using and how they blew up in his face so badly this week, and seeing them play the secret tapes Jessica had made for the media to see and them cutting to his daughter when he had just promised to her that he had never hit Jessica and now she was finding out that was a huge lie....that was very well done. so I’m still on board for now, we’ll see where it goes from here. After that I just watched the news for a bit and then some Jimmy Kimmel before starting to get ready for bed, didn’t need to shower since I did so earlier when I was getting the hair dye out, so I took my pills and grabbed my computer to start writing this and now I am here. It’s 1:16 am and I am getting a bit sleepy, so I think I will end this here. Looking forward to birthday fun tomorrow. Goodnight peeps. I hope my birthday is a great day for you too.

#daily journal #March 2018 #Rachel watches Arrow #birthday

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skywalker-3-1-7 · 7 years ago

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The Walmart Debacle: A Spider-Man One-Shot

Genre: Comedy, Humor, Adventure

Characters: Peter Parker, Ned Leeds, Michelle “MJ” Jones, Karen

Pairings: Peter Parker/Michelle “MJ” Jones

(***first installment in series***)

Spider-Man. That's me. I'm Spider-Man. Which is cool and all, but it's not a huge help when it comes to American History.

"Why does it matter what year Benedict Armstrong defected?" I groaned, slamming my textbook shut and tossing it carelessly onto my bedroom floor. Ned, perched on the bottom bunk of the bedset, threw me a dirty glare, shaking his head in disapproval as I hung from the ceiling listlessly.

"It's Benedict Arnold," he corrected, setting down his stack of notes. "And Peter, you need to study if you're going to pass finals next week. You're barely getting by in History."

"I've had more important things to do," I mumbled.

"Oh," Ned retorted. "Like that ATM robbery the other week where you almost stopped the cops from getting the guy?"

"Besides that."

"Or the time three days ago when you skipped third period because you were convinced the janitor was dealing drugs, but he was actually just having an affair with Mrs. Johnston?"

"Hey, he looked fishy," I exclaimed indignantly.

"I think the world can do without Spider-Man for a few days," Ned replied, his gaze growing more serious. "Besides, I thought May went all psycho-aunt after finding out and grounded you or something."

"That was months ago," I said. "And Mr. Stark took her out to a nice dinner and explained the whole thing, talked some sense into her, you know. Everything's cool now. Except I can't be out past 11, but other than that."

"Wow," Ned murmured sardonically. "A superhero with a curfew. Better hope all the ATM robbers don't find out." I frowned, then snatched an empty soda can from my bedside table with a web, chucking it at Ned's head while he chuckled to himself. Slipping down to the floor, I strode to the window and parted the curtains, peering outside.

"I just don't wanna miss anything," I said quietly.

"You won't," Ned assured me, shifting on the bottom bunk. "Now come on, let's go over the Revolutionary War again." I sighed heavily, running a hand through my dark hair.

"Alri -"

Before I could finish, I was interrupted by an alarm ringing loudly from my computer. Leaping across the room in a single bound, I clicked excitedly until I discovered the source of the alarm.

"There's an armed robbery at the Wal-Mart ten blocks from here," I practically shouted. "It looks like they have a hostage!"

"Peter, it's Tuesday," Ned said with an exaggerated yawn. "Can we let the police handle it for once?"

"I gotta go, Ned," I argued, tossing him an earpiece as I stripped out of my t-shirt and sweatpants. "Besides, if you didn't want me doing this kind of stuff, you shouldn't have helped me hack into the emergency dispatch network."

"Fair point," Ned relented, abandoning the stack of books beside of him and sauntering over to the computer, where he took a seat and began clicking away.

"Thanks, bro," I murmured, smiling appreciatively as I dawned my suit. Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I slipped the mask over my head, and a soft, familiar voice filled my ears.

"Good evening, Peter."

"Hey, Karen," I mumbled, giving Ned one final nod as I slid open the window and darted outside.

"A little close to curfew, aren't we?" said Karen as I propelled myself across the street.

"I have 37 minutes," I protested, slinging my body across another block as a long web shot from my wrist. "Plenty of time for a robbery and hostage situation."

"Shall I replay some audio from the last time you missed curfew?" Karen queried. There was a crackle, and then my head was suddenly slammed with the sound of Aunt May yelling nonsensically.

"Okay, okay, I get the picture," I grumbled, and Karen promptly shut off the noise.

"I'm with you on this one, Karen," came Ned's voice over the comm.

"You know," I said, "You guys could try being encouraging."

"Don't die out there, buddy," was Ned's response.

"I echo Mr. Leed's sentiments," Karen added.

Grunting to myself, I closed the distance between myself and the approaching Wal-Mart. At last, I reached the roof. Glancing to the streets below, I spotted a squadron of police cars gathering by the entrance. A swarm of cops were standing by, talking into their walkies and swaggering about with their guns bared.

"Any word from the police channels?" I asked, pressing a finger to my ear.

"There are three men and one woman, all of them armed," Karen answered. "They're in the back of the store in the electronics section."

"Okay," I mumbled to myself. "Not too bad. How many hostages?"

"Two," said Karen. "An employee and a civilian. There's a ventilation shaft fifty feet behind you, which will take you close to the electronics section."

"Thanks Karen," I replied, sprinting across the rooftop to the top of the shaft.

Removing the metal plate on top took a minute or so, then I carefully crawled down the shaft. It was cold, to say the least, and I shivered underneath my suit.

"Your body temperature is decreasing rapidly, Peter." Karen remarked. "Shall I activate the suit's heating system?"

"Yeah, th-that'd be great," I responded through chattering teeth. A rush of warmth began to seep into my skin, and I blinked, clearing my focus as I neared the end of the tunnel.

Popping my head into the open, I gazed down to find myself directly above the children's clothing. No customers in sight. Relief flowed through my veins, and I crawled into the high rafters of the ceiling with a boost of confidence.

Across from the clothing lay the electronics. As I navigated towards the section, moving carefully across the rafters, trepidation began to sink into my heart. I picked up the sounds of shouting, and I strained my ears to listen in. Peaking in between the rafters, I noticed a group of four, all dressed in black and wearing ski masks. Two, a man and a woman, were carrying rifles, while the others bore pistols. On the floor between the four of them sat the hostages.

"I've got eyes on the hostages," I murmured.

"What's it look like in there?" Ned asked. I glanced over the two hostages. There was a middle-aged, red-haired man wearing a Wal-Mart uniform, and a young girl with curly black hair and a familiar jacket. I squinted, peering closer at the girl.

My heart stopped.

"Oh no..." I said. "No no no...'

"What is it?" Ned inquired, his voice spiked with panic.

"It's her, Ned," I replied in a rushed tone as terror shot through every inch of my body.

"Who?" Ned shouted. "Please tell me it's Jennifer Lawrence. That would be so hot."

"It's MJ!" I hissed, my voice starting to tremble.

"Michelle?" Ned screeched. "Are you kidding me?"

"What do I do?!" I asked to no one in particular.

"Well you can't let her die!" Ned answered. "She's the Decathlon Captain! We'll suck without her, and I need to get in as many extracurriculars as I can."

"Although Mr. Leed's priorities are a bit skewed," Karen broke in, "I agree that you should offer your assistance as soon as possible in ending this dilemma."

"Alright," I whispered. "I"m going in."

I sneaked noiselessly across the rafters, drawing ever closer. I could feel sweat dripping down my forehead underneath my suit, although I wasn't sure if it was from the heating system, or the pressure that had suddenly crashed into my pounding skull. As I paused directly above MJ and the rest, I finally caught on to the words of her captors.

"The cops are gonna storm this place any second," the woman was saying in a nervous tone, her words muffled ever so slightly underneath her mask. "We should just go. We'll get enough cash with all these devices." My eyes swung to the left, and I realized the man and woman with the rifles were both hefting large, bulging bags across their backs.

"That idiot manager will be back with the money from the safe in a minute, Cat," one of the men with a pistol growled. He suddenly reached towards MJ, grabbing the collar of her jacket and yanking her backward. Her face was etched in fear, but she remained silent as he jammed the business end of his pistol against the side of her head. "And if he plays any tricks, then we'll give these tiles a makeover with the girl's brains. I think red would add a nice bit of color, don't you think?" A wave of anger shot through my body like fuel as the man and his cronies burst into laughter, and MJ squirmed uncomfortably. Without another thought, I swung silently from the rafters, hovering just a few sparse inches above the man's head.

"If you ask me, I think yellow would be a better choice," I said, struggling to keep my voice calm.

The man whirled around, and was greeted with a thick web splattered across his face. Squealing like a newborn piglet, he began scraping away the webbing. I launched an aggressive kick into his stomach, sending hims sprawling to the floor, his gun clattering loudly onto the tiles.

"Then again," I continued, shrugging nonchalantly as the other three turned towards me. "I'm not much of an interior designer."

In the blink of an eye, the men sprung towards me while the woman attempted to gather the bags of stolen goods and keep a gun trained on MJ. Still dangling from the ceiling with one arm, I kicked off from a nearby stand, then shot a web around the two men as I spun in a tight circle around them. Stuck together, they shouted angrily as I snatched their weapons and deposited them by the first man's pistol.

Wal-Mart Man was making a run for it, and the woman let the employee run into the clothing section as she struggled to carry both of the massive bags while forcing MJ alongside of her.

"Hey!" I shouted, latching a web onto a pillar just ahead of them. "Why don't you try these electronics!" As I swung past, Karen switched to a personal favorite web-combination of ours, and I zapped the woman directly in the back. Electric tendrils zig-zagged across her torso, and she burst into a fit of convulsions, collapsing to the ground. "Yeah!" I exclaimed ecstatically, pumping a fist into the air in celebration.

Then, I face-planted into the pillar. Not my best moment, I admit. I slid to the floor, my face flaming brighter than the outside of my suit.

"Wow," an all-too familiar voice said from behind me as I picked myself off of the tiled floor. "So graceful." I gulped, trying to look casual as I spun around to see MJ dusting herself off.

"Are you ok?" I asked, my embarrassment forgotten as I noticed a bruise already swelling on the side of her face. I started forward, then stopped myself, clenching my fists as I cleared my throat. "I mean, they didn't harm you?"

"You could at least try not to sound like a prepubescent, Peter," Ned's voice teased in my ear.

"Nothing serious," MJ answered, crossing her arms over her chest as she studied me through narrowed eyes. "Do you remember me, Spider-Man?" she queried, her tone almost taunting. "D.C.? Washington Monument?" I swallowed the lump in my throat, pretending to appear shocked.

"Oh, D.C.," I said, chuckling lightly and waving the comment away. "Yeah, that was... that was nothing, really. Glad to do it."

"Um-hmm," MJ murmured, raising an eyebrow. "Well, you should really be going before the cops get here."

"Right, yeah," I replied, glancing upwards towards the rafters, shooting a web to the nearest beam. "Have a nice night M-" I coughed, correcting myself. "M-Ma'am. Have a nice night, ma'am."

"Hey," MJ called after me as I raised myself into the air towards the ceiling. "Thanks," she said, and I glanced down in time to see a rare smile light up her face.

"Y-yeah, no problem," I stammered, giving her a thumbs-up before scurrying back up to the rafters.

My heart slammed in my chest as the leftover adrenaline pumped through my blood.

"Sounding a little nervous there, Pete," Ned commented through the earpiece. "Don't get me wrong, she's cute and all -"

"Shut up, Ned," I riposted. "MJ's a friend. I... I just didn't want her to get hurt."

"Uh-huh," was Ned's response. I rolled my eyes, and didn't say anything else for the remainder of the journey back home. I re-entered my room through the window just as the clock struck 11 o'clock.

And thus another night as Spider-Man came to a close.

(Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought! Follow for more one-shots!)

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shytiff · 3 years ago

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September 2021

1 - MTBS 0 pt. tried out kopsus from jannor coffee with gofood pickup promo (10k). it tasted nutty and yummy even though it seems to use regular milk. but its kinda hot. the ac was not satisfactory. finished up the word for Prof. bought jasuke on the way back. filled out IDI form since i still have energy.

2 - mtbs again but this time its 3 patients at the same time. vcalled with kris. bought some snacks in hypermart. exercised a bit and played badminton with renata. watched 3 eps of nanno.

3 - my body aches and it will be wonderful to sleep again but its already 6:40. usila today. the ac in kamar jaga was no longer cold. finally finished moms box of brownies from like 2 weeks ago. read dear benjamin. got to enjoy some silence because i napped before maghrib and the others slept early.

4 - vaccine in GCD with teh fitri, teh fany and teh rahmi. about 440ish patients. gossiped about cibeber lmao. watched the hitman’s bodyguard. samuel and ryan was hilarious.

5 - morning walk with renata. saw cilegon’s cfd. cleaned up the room accompanied by howl’s soundtrack. made spaghetti with instant bolognese sauce, egg and cheese. o seven with tri nagita. just saw prof’s email from 2nd sept, shit. tried to get some headspace to do ppt.

6 - bp with nessa (originally kia/ugd). except therere some patients in ugd lol. did excision for clavus (1st timer!) and hecting. fried tempe (1st timer!) using someone’s leftover oil lmaooo

7 - BP with zihan. had spaghetti combined with cheese egg and mom’s chicken for lunch. instant bloating :). drank hot matcha to curb the bloat. planked. ate muesli lol. did not do anything significant today :( started the origin of species.

8 - vaccine today except it starts at 10:30 since we’re waiting for the mayor. so i hung out on the screening table since the doctor room was hot. vaccine with dr lutfi. watched homcha and nanno. fell asleep

9 - vaccine with bang esa and other staffs in smp 8 cikerai. its apparently the highest point in cikerai. finished at 12-ish pm and we ate buffet lunch lol. made matcha latte again. this time with almost 1 spoon of sugar so it tastes good. i missss matcha. read 1 webinar ppt so i guess thats a little but its something. rip attention span

10 - usila. tried A BIT of duren from bu Tur for dr isip but its enough to make me retch lmao. was given labbaik chicken by bu oo. Some exercise. rly tried to make some progress but my brain just cant seem to muster

11 - kia/ugd. Some ugd patients. Spaghetti for lunch yay. Originally intended to go to cafe but i ended up falling asleep :) tried to get some progress for PPT. Involved a lot of staring into nothing. Slept at like 00:30ish am

12 - morning walk slash jog. The jogging track was finally open. Went to jannor. Ordered kopsus and meatball potato dish with gofood takeaway promo (spent a total of 30k) . The staff kindly asked whether i want to eat there or to actually takeaway lol. The meatball truly tasted like meat. The mashed potato was a bit dry. The weather was grey and cloudy, exactly my favorite. First time cooking kangkung

13 - vaccine today. 20-ish patients. Alone in kamar jaga since nessa went to mass vaccine. Zoom call with Prof. Dyed my hair blue in flow salon (1200K). got free manicure, It took 5 hrs 😅. another firsts in life. both the nail tech and hair tech said my hair was dry lmao. arrived in mess at 9ish pm. ordered nasgor in front of mess

14 - mi rebus for bfast. not too much patients for vaccine so i finished at like 10 am. napped at kamar jaga. got free rice box from dr arief etc yay :)))) got mochacinno at jannor. tried to do sumn useful but cannot. still no ppt progress aaa. watched homcha ep 6 together

15 - vaccine in al hanif. tried chicken-cakwe porridge near the school. the school was an all girls school, with ppl wearing long veils. tried to fit the placement test from cakap (12-1 pm) during the vaccination lol. had to excuse myself to the ssaem during photo sesh. napped so i could see the 17 pm cakap class but i ended up napping until close to 18 :) saw the 19 am class with lukas ssaem

16 - spaghetti for bfast. usila today. this dumbass forgot to wear komin and wore her rubber slip ons. turns out theres some money from al hanif vaccine. which is great bcs there’s literally no paper money in my wallet lmaoo. rested a bit. dr eva called and she gave me a ppt and chapter book job. sheeet theres no progress yet of Prof’s ppt. a wake up call. whatsapped with frends that planned to go to cilegon this weekend, but it ended up being the next weekend. thank god, because dr eva’s ppt deadline is 24th sept. set myself up on a spot in the vanity table so i can work in a chair (i frfr find it difficult to work on my own bed)

17 - some patients in UGD. Slept while waiting for 2 pm. Held off my sleepiness for zoom with dr Eva. 5pm cakap class. Matcha latte. 7pm zoom w dr eva. Fell asleep after that

18 - bp. Turns out teh imey also dyed her hair. cakap class abt bts' spring day lol. Worked on dr eva's ppt

19 - jogged a bit. had kopsus (20K) and fish fillet rice (27K). finished dr eva’s ppt with the given material so far. napped in mess. dr eva also revised the ppt on the same day so there’s 2 slides left (patient clinical profile and conclusion). took some time for me to get the headspace to work on ppt so i started prof’s ppt at like 7-ish. only got 1 slide. stayed awake until 11ish but i basically stopped doing useful stuff at 9 TT TT

20 - vaccine today, finished at 10 am. lounged around. went to bni to check on m-banking, still system error. transferred 3mil from my BNI atm to muamalat. tried nasi goreng roa and cakalang with added chicken shreds (20K). so goood. conversed with nessa zihan. did not open my laptop at all :) stopped by at rodalink bcs nessa wanted to buy a bike. drank matcha latte in an effort to curb sleepiness. worked on Prof’s ppt. fried the frozen kebab (35K) i bought from teh Rahmi.

21 - vaccine P3K w teh yeni teh rahmi mas oim. 3 patients. Ate some gorengan and talked lol. Did the abstract and ppt for dr eva. Worked on Prof's ppt.

22 - usila w mas oim. Had banana, bolu and protein for bfast. Ordered nasgor roa cakalang from bakuku for lunch. Felt suuuuper sleepy afterwards. Wanted to sleep again in mess but couldnt. Washed my shitton of clothes with washing machine. Heavyyy. Worked more on PPT. Too much denial this week

23 - picked some groceries @ bu rum. Kia/ugd today. Its been a while since i last checked DJJ. Successful first attempt but fail in the 2nd bcs the baby is still floating. Cooked meat and veggies with nessren. Jannor and kopsus again. Worked on ppt til my head hurts. Its a little bit more to gooo.

24 - bp. Made myself bento with nugget and left over veggies. Finished the smol details of the ppt and finally sent it. Watched shangchi @ transmart w chillegone. The film was fun! We cooked soup at mess and tri made perkedel. Watched homcha ep7. Slept

25 - Vaccine but there was no vaccine, so I went to UKK @ villa ternak cikerai with pkm peeps. its like opening a clinic but somewhere in hills area. got treated to bakso and tempe mendoan afterwards. lazed around in my bed, with no info from jkt friends who wanted to visit but suddenly they arrived lmao. went to amaris to catch up with them. thankfully it was not hourly parking. ate at saung bonang near the billiard place with heri joining us. total bill for five was 126 lmao its rly pocket friendly. heri borrowed my motorbike bcs his friend’s place doesnt have car park. thank god we brought the bike

26 - me and racheel went downstairs to get the hotel bfast. packed fruits, tempe and bread upstairs lol. put our stuffs in royal krakatau. took maxim to pulau kecil. turns out pak asep changed his number. it was raining there, so we sat a bit and got mie rebus. had lunch at amirang (my treat). there was only us inside. the food was okay but the meat was rly overpriced for its amount. went back to the hotel. went to indomaret and mess with racheel to get my stuff. my stupid impatient ass dropped atikah’s brand new iphone while pulling the hotel towel from the bathroom rack. im sorryyyyy. racheel and i swam until maghrib. atikah told us abt her boy “friend”. slept early at like 9-10ish with the usual width but longer leg space

27 - and suddenly its time to go to puskesmas. asked nessa to bring my shoes. said goodbye to friends. BP. there were a lot of patients. kanayam for lunch. i bought shades lol bcs i commute against the sun in the morning. cakap club. watched homcha. fell asleep

28 - vaccine. finished at like 10:30. tried to go to bni to install mbanking but the queue was like 20 ppl. did the outline for the red book. liqo with kak kartika. zoom meeting with dr eva. fell asleep again

29 - vaccine in sma 3 cilegon (cikerai) with bang esa and others. finished at like 2-ish pm. got 750K hehehe. mentoring with dr. Arnadi about KKD and HHS. bought rotbak with nessa. showered and cleaned and fell asleeep

30 - cooked tempe with leftover kanayam chili sauce. bp again. saw interesting cases today, such as fixed drug eruption. bought phd from gofood promo. went to jannor and got the usual kopsus with added espresso (since the min amount for gofood pick up promo was 25k). tried to do prof’s script but cannot, so i searched the literatures needed for dr eva’s project

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